THE FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS ACT, 2006 

––––– 
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
––––– 

CHAPTER I 

PRELIMINARY 

SECTIONS 

1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Declaration as to expediency of control by the Union. 
3.  Definitions. 

CHAPTER II 

FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF INDIA 

4.  Establishment of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. 
5.  Composition of Food Authority and qualifications for appointment of its Chairperson and other 

Members. 

6.  Selection Committee for selection of Chairperson and Members of Food Authority. 
7.  Term of office, salary, allowances and other conditions of service of Chairperson and Members of 

Food Authority. 

8.  Removal of Chairperson and Members of Food Authority. 
9.  Officers and other employees of Food Authority. 
10.  Functions of the Chief Executive Officer. 
11.  Central Advisory Committee. 
12.  Functions of Central Advisory Committee. 
13.  Scientific Panels. 
14.  Scientific Committee. 
15.  Procedure for Scientific Committee and Scientific Panel. 
16.  Duties and functions of Food Authority. 
17.  Proceedings of Food Authority. 

CHAPTER III 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FOOD SAFETY 

18.  General principles to be followed in administration of Act. 

CHAPTER IV 

GENERAL PROVISIONS AS TO ARTICLES OF FOOD 

19.  Use of food additive or processing aid. 
20.  Contaminants, naturally occurring toxic substances, heavy metals, etc. 
21.  Pesticides, veterinary drugs residues, antibiotic residues and microbiological counts. 
22.  Genetically modified foods, organic foods, functional foods, proprietary foods, etc. 
23.  Packaging and labelling of foods. 
24.  Restrictions of advertisement and prohibition as to unfair trade practices. 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER V 

PROVISIONS RELATING TO IMPORT 

SECTIONS 

25.  All imports of articles of food to be subject to this Act. 

CHAPTER VI 

SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AS TO FOOD SAFETY 

26.  Responsibilities of the food business operator. 
27.  Liability of the manufacturers, packers, wholesalers, distributors and sellers. 
28.  Food recall procedures. 

CHAPTER VII 

ENFORCEMENT OF THE ACT 

29.  Authorities responsible for enforcement of Act. 
30.  Commissioner of Food Safety of the State. 
31.  Licensing and registration of food business. 
32.  Improvement notices. 
33.  Prohibition orders. 
34.  Emergency prohibition notices and orders. 
35.  Notification of food poisoning. 
36.  Designated Officer. 
37.  Food Safety Officer. 
38.  Powers of Food Safety Officer. 
39.  Liability of Food Safety Officer in certain cases. 
40.  Purchaser may have food analysed. 
41.  Power of search, seizure, investigation, prosecution and procedure thereof. 
42.  Procedure for launching prosecution. 

CHAPTER VIII 

ANALYSIS OF FOOD 

43.  Recognition and accreditation of laboratories, research institutions and referral food laboratory. 
44.  Recognition of organisation or agency for food safety audit. 
45.  Food Analysts. 
46.  Functions of Food Analyst. 
47.  Sampling and analysis. 

CHAPTER IX 

OFFENCES AND PENALTIES 

48.  General provisions relating to offences. 
49.  General provisions relating to penalty. 
50.  Penalty for selling food not of the nature or substance or quality demanded. 
51.  Penalty for sub-standard food. 
52.  Penalty for misbranded food. 
53.  Penalty for misleading advertisement. 
54.  Penalty for food containing extraneous matter. 
55.  Penalty for failure to comply with the directions of Food Safety Officer. 
56.  Penalty for unhygienic or unsanitary processing or manufacturing of food. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
SECTIONS 

57.  Penalty for possessing adulterant. 
58.  Penalty for contraventions for which no specific penalty is provided. 
59.  Punishment for unsafe food. 
60.  Punishment for interfering with seized items. 
61.  Punishment for false information. 
62.  Punishment for obstructing or impersonating a Food Safety Officer. 
63.  Punishment for carrying out a business without licence. 
64.  Punishment for subsequent offences. 
65.  Compensation in case of injury or death of consumer. 
66.  Offences by companies. 
67.  Penalty for contravention of provisions of this Act in case of import of articles of food to be in 

addition to penalties provided under any other Act. 

CHAPTER X 

ADJUDICATION AND FOOD SAFETY APPELLATE TRIBUNAL 

68.  Adjudication. 
69.  Power to compound offences. 
70.  Establishment of Food Safety Appellate Tribunal. 
71.  Procedure and powers of the Tribunal. 
72.  Civil court not to have jurisdiction. 
73.  Power of court to try cases summarily. 
74.  Special courts and Public Prosecutor. 
75.  Power to transfer cases to regular courts. 
76.  Appeal. 
77.  Time limit for prosecutions. 
78.  Power of court to implead manufacturer, etc. 
79.  Magistrate’s power to impose enhanced punishment. 
80.  Defences which may or may not be allowed in prosecution under this Act. 

CHAPTER XI 

FINANCE, ACCOUNTS, AUDIT AND REPORTS 

81.  Budget of Food Authority. 
82.  Finances of the Food Authority. 
83.  Accounts and audit of Food Authority. 
84.  Annual report of Food Authority. 

CHAPTER XII 

MISCELLANEOUS 

85.  Power of Central Government to issue directions to Food Authority and obtain reports and 

returns. 

86.  Power of Central Government to give directions to State Governments. 
87.  Members, officers of Food Authority and Commissioner of Food Safety to be public servants. 
88.  Protection of action taken in good faith. 
89.  Overriding effect of this Act over all other food related laws. 
90.  Transfer of existing employees of Central Government Agencies governing various foods related 

Acts or Orders to Food Authority. 

91.  Power of Central Government to make rules. 
92.  Power of Food Authority to make regulations. 
93.  Laying of rules and regulations before Parliament. 
94.  Power of State Government to make rules. 

3 

 
 
 
 
SECTIONS 

95.  Reward by State Government. 
96.  Recovery of penalty. 
97.  Repeal and savings. 
98.  Transitory provisions for food standards. 
99.  Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 shall be deemed to be regulations made under this Act. 
100. Amendments to the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of 

Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992. 

101. Power to remove difficulties. 
 THE FIRST SCHEDULE. 
 THE SECOND SCHEDULE. 

4 

 
 
THE FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS ACT, 2006 

ACT NO. 34 OF 2006 

An Act to consolidate the laws relating to food and to establish the Food Safety and Standards 
Authority  of  India  for  laying  down  science  based  standards  for  articles  of  food  and  to 
regulate  their  manufacture,  storage,  distribution,  sale  and  import,  to  ensure  availability  of 
safe  and  wholesome  food  for  human  consumption  and  for  matters  connected  therewith  or 
incidental thereto. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:– 

[23rd August, 2006.] 

CHAPTER I 

PRELIMINARY 

1.  Short  title,  extent  and  commencement.–(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Food  Safety  and 

Standards Act, 2006. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India. 
(3)  It  shall  come  into  force  on  such  date1  as  the  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the 
Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and 
any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to 
the coming into force of that provision. 

2. Declaration as to expediency of control by the Union.–It is hereby declared that it is expedient 

in the public interest that the Union should take under its control the food industry. 

3. Definitions.–(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,– 

(a) ―adulterant‖ means any material which is or could be employed for making the food unsafe 

or sub-standard or mis-branded or containing extraneous matter; 

(b) ―advertisement‖ means any audio or visual publicity, representation or pronouncement made 
by  means of any light, sound, smoke, gas, print, electronic media, internet or website and includes 
through any notice, circular, label, wrapper, invoice or other documents; 

(c) ―Chairperson‖ means the Chairperson of the Food Authority; 

(d) ―claim‖ means any representation which states, suggests, or implies that a food has particular 

qualities relating to its origin, nutritional properties, nature, processing, composition or otherwise; 

(e)  ―Commissioner  of  Food  Safety‖  means  the  Commissioner  of  Food  Safety  appointed  under 

section 30; 

(f) ―consumer‖ means persons and families purchasing and receiving food in order to meet their 

personal needs; 

(g) ―contaminant‖ means any substance, whether or not added to food, but which is present in 
such food as a result of the production (including operations carried out in crop husbandry, animal 
husbandry  or  veterinary  medicine),  manufacture,  processing,  preparation,  treatment,  packing, 
packaging, transport or holding of such food or as a result of environmental contamination and does 
not include insect fragments, rodent hairs and other extraneous matter; 

1. 28th May, 2008 (ss. 3 and 30), vide notification No. S.O. 1246(E), dated 28th May, 2008, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, 

Part II, sec. 3(ii). 
28th August, 2008 (s. 90), vide notification No. S.O. 2127(E), dated 28th August, 2008,  see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, 
Part II, sec. 3(ii). 
18th  November,  2008  (ss.  16,  17,  18,  81,  82,  83,  84,  85,  86,  92  and  93),  vide  notification  No.  S.O.  2678(E),  dated  18th 
November, 2008, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii). 
9th March, 2009 (ss. 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15), vide notification No. S.O. 650(E), dated 9th March, 2009, see Gazette of India, 
Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii). 

5 

 
                     
 
(h) ―Designated Officer‖ means the officer appointed under section 36; 

(i) ―extraneous matter‖ means any matter contained in an article of food which may be carried 
from the raw materials, packaging materials or process systems used for its manufacture or which is 
added to it, but such matter does not render such article of food unsafe; 

(j) ―Food‖ means any substance, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, which is 
intended  for  human  consumption  and  includes  primary  food  to  the  extent  defined  in  clause  (zk), 
genetically modified or engineered food or food containing such ingredients, infant food, packaged 
drinking water, alcoholic drink, chewing gum, and any substance, including water used into the food 
during its manufacture, preparation or treatment but does not include any animal feed, live animals 
unless they are prepared or processed for placing on the market for human consumption, plants, prior 
to harvesting, drugs and medicinal products, cosmetics, narcotic or psychotropic substances: 

Provided that the Central Government may declare, by notification in the Official Gazette, any 
other  article  as  food  for  the  purposes  of  this  Act  having  regards  to  its  use,  nature,  substance  or 
quality; 

(k) ―food additive‖ means any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself or used as a 
typical ingredient of the food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the intentional addition of which 
to  food  for  a  technological  (including  organoleptic)  purpose  in  the  manufacture,  processing, 
preparation,  treatment,  packing,  packaging,  transport  or  holding  of  such  food  results,  or  may  be 
reasonably expected to result (directly or indirectly), in it or its by-products becoming a component 
of  or  otherwise  affecting  the  characteristics  of  such  food  but  does  not  include  ―contaminants‖  or 
substances added to food for maintaining or improving nutritional qualities; 

 (l) ―Food Analyst‖ means an analyst appointed under section 45; 

(m) ―Food Authority‖ means the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India established under 

section 4; 

(n)  ―food  business‖  means  any  undertaking,  whether  for  profit  or  not  and  whether  public  or 
private, carrying out any of the activities related to any stage of manufacture, processing, packaging, 
storage, transportation, distribution of food, import and includes food services, catering services, sale 
of food or food ingredients; 

(o) ―food business operator‖ in relation to food business means a person by whom the business is 
carried on or owned and is responsible for ensuring the compliance of this Act, rules and regulations 
made thereunder; 

(p) ―food laboratory‖ means any food laboratory or institute established by the Central or a State 
Government  or  any  other  agency  and  accredited  by  National  Accreditation  Board  for  Testing  and 
Calibration Laboratories or an equivalent accreditation agency and recognised by the Food Authority 
under section 43; 

(q) ―food safety‖ means assurance that food is acceptable for human consumption according to 

its intended use; 

(r)  ―food  safety  audit‖  means  a  systematic  and  functionally  independent  examination  of  food 
safety  measures  adopted  by  manufacturing  units  to  determine  whether  such  measures  and  related 
results meet with objectives of food safety and the claims made in that behalf; 

(s) ―Food Safety Management System‖ means the adoption Good Manufacturing Practices, Good 
Hygienic Practices, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point and such other practices as may be 
specified by regulation, for the food business; 

(t) ―Food Safety Officer‖ means an officer appointed under section 37; 

(u)  ―hazard‖  means  a  biological,  chemical  or  physical  agent  in,  or  condition  of,  food  with  the 

potential to cause an adverse health effect; 

(v) ―import‖ means bringing into India any article of food by land, sea or air; 

(w) ―improvement notice‖ means a notice issued under section 32 of this Act; 

6 

 
(x) ―infant food‖ and ―infant milk substitute‖ shall have the meanings assigned to them in clauses 
(f) and (g) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant 
Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992 (41 of 1992), respectively; 

(y)  ―ingredient‖  means  any  substance,  including  a  food  additive  used  in  the  manufacture  or 

preparation of food and present in the final product, possibly in a modified form; 

(z)  ―label‖  means  any  tag,  brand,  mark,  pictorial  or  other  descriptive  matter,  written,  printed, 
stencilled, marked, embossed, graphic, perforated, stamped or impressed on or attached to container, 
cover, lid or crown of any food package and includes a product insert; 

(za) ―licence‖ means a licence granted under section 31; 

(zb) ―local area‖ means any area, whether urban or rural, notified by the Commissioner of Food 

Safety, to be a local area for the purposes of this Act; 

(zc) ―manufacture‖ means a process or adoption or any treatment for conversion of ingredients 
into an article of food, which includes any sub-process, incidental or ancillary to the manufacture of 
an article of food; 

(zd) ―manufacturer‖ means a person engaged in the business of manufacturing any article of food 
for sale and includes any person who obtains such article from another person and packs and labels it 
for sale or only labels it for such purposes; 

1[(ze) ―Member‖ includes a part-time Member and the Chairperson of the Food Authority;] 

(zf) ―misbranded food‖ means an article of food– 

(A) if it is purported, or is represented to be, or is being– 

(i) offered or promoted for sale with false, misleading or deceptive claims either; 

(a) upon the label of the package, or 

(b) through advertisement, or 

(ii) sold by a name which belongs to another article of food; or 

(iii) offered or promoted for sale under the name of a fictitious individual or company as 
the manufacturer or producer of the article as borne on the package or containing the article 
or the label on such package; or 

(B) if the article is sold in packages which have been sealed or prepared by or at the instance 

of the manufacturer or producer bearing his name and address but– 

(i) the article is an imitation of, or is a substitute for, or resembles in a manner likely to 
deceive,  another  article  of  food  under  the  name  of  which  it  is  sold,  and  is  not  plainly  and 
conspicuously labelled so as to indicate its true character; or 

(ii) the package containing the article or the label on the package bears any statement, 
design or device regarding the ingredients or the substances contained therein, which is false 
or misleading in any material particular, or if the package is otherwise deceptive with respect 
to its contents; or 

(iii) the article is offered for sale as the product of any place or country which is false; or 

(C) if the article contained in the package– 

(i) contains any artificial flavouring, colouring or chemical preservative and the package 
is  without  a  declaratory  label  stating  that  fact  or  is  not  labelled  in  accordance  with  the 
requirements of this Act or regulations made thereunder or is in contravention thereof; or 

(ii) is offered for sale for special dietary uses, unless its label bears such information as 
may be specified by regulation, concerning its vitamins, minerals or other dietary properties 
in order sufficiently to inform its purchaser as to its value for such use; or 

 1. Subs.by Act 13 of 2008, s. 2, for cl. (ze) (w.e.f. 7-2-2008). 

7 

 
                     
(iii)  is  not conspicuously  or  correctly  stated  on the  outside thereof  within the limits  of 

variability laid down under this Act. 

(zg) ―notification‖ means a notification published in the Official Gazette; 

(zh) ―package‖ means a pre-packed box, bottle, casket, tin, barrel, case, pouch, receptacle, sack, 

bag, wrapper or such other things in which an article of food is packed; 

(zi) ―premises‖ include any shop, stall, hotel, restaurant, airline services and food canteens, place 

or vehicle or vessel where any article of food is sold or manufactured or stored for sale; 

(zj)  ―prescribed‖  means  prescribed  by  rules  made  by  the  Central  Government  or  the  State 

Government, as the case may be under this Act; 

(zk)  ―primary  food‖  means  an article  of  food,  being  a  produce of agriculture  or horticulture  or 
animal husbandry and dairying or aquaculture in its natural form, resulting from the growing, raising, 
cultivation, picking, harvesting, collection or catching in the hands of a person other than a farmer or 
fisherman; 

(zl) ―prohibition order‖ means an order issued under section 33 of this Act; 

(zm) ―risk‖, in relation to any article of food, means the probability of an adverse effect on the 

health of consumers of such food and the severity of that effect, consequential to a food hazard; 

(zn)  ―risk  analysis‖,  in  relation  to  any  article  of  food,  means  a  process  consisting  of  three 

components, i.e. risk assessment, risk management and risk communication; 

(zo)  ―risk  assessment‖  means  a  scientifically  based  process  consisting  of  the  following  steps:  
(i)  hazard  identification,  (ii)  hazard  characterisation;  (iii)  exposure  assessment,  and  (iv)  risk 
haracterisation; 

(zp)  ―risk  communication‖  means  the  interactive  exchange  of  information  and  opinions 
throughout  the  risk  analysis  process  concerning  risks,  risk-related  factors  and  risk  perceptions, 
among  risk  assessors,  risk  managers,  consumers,  industry,  the  academic  community  and  other 
interested  parties,  including  the  explanation  of  risk  assessment  findings  and  the  basis  of  risk 
management decisions; 

(zq)  ―risk  management‖  means  the  process,  distinct from  risk  assessment,  of  evaluating  policy 
alternatives, in consultation with all interested parties considering risk assessment and other factors 
relevant for the protection of health of consumers and for the promotion of fair trade practices, and, if 
needed, selecting appropriate prevention and control options; 

(zr) ―sale‖ with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means the sale of any article 
of food, whether for cash or on credit or by way of exchange and whether by wholesale or retail, for 
human consumption or use, or for analysis, and includes an agreement for sale, an offer for sale, the 
exposing for sale or having in possession for sale of any such article, and includes also an attempt to 
sell any such article; 

(zs) ―sample‖ means a sample of any article of food taken under the provisions of this Act or any 

rules and regulations made thereunder; 

(zt) ―specified by regulations‖ means specified by regulations made by the Food Authority; 

(zu)  ―standard‖,  in  relation  to  any  article  of  food,  means  the  standards  notified  by  the  Food 

Authority; 

(zv) ―State Government‖ in relation to a Union territory means the Administrator of that Union 

territory appointed by the President under article 239 of the Constitution; 

(zw)  ―substance‖  includes  any  natural  or  artificial  substance  or  other  matter,  whether  it  is  in  a 

solid state or in liquid form or in the form of gas or vapour; 

(zx) ―sub-standard‖ an article of food shall be deemed to be sub-standard if it does not meet the 

specified standards but not so as to render the article of food unsafe; 

(zy) ―Tribunal‖ means the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal established under section 70; 

8 

 
(zz) ―unsafe food‖ means an article of food whose nature, substance or quality is so affected as to 

render it injurious to health:— 

(i) by the article itself, or its package thereof, which is composed, whether wholly or in 

part, of poisonous or deleterious substances; or 

(ii) by the article consisting, wholly or in part, of any filthy, putrid, rotten, decomposed 

or diseased animal substance or vegetable substance; or 

(iii) by virtue of its unhygienic processing or the presence in that article of any harmful 

substance; or 

(iv) by the substitution of any inferior or cheaper substance whether wholly or in part; or 

(v) by addition of a substance directly or as an ingredient which is not permitted; or 

(vi) by the abstraction, wholly or in part, of any of its constituents; or 

(vii) by the article being so coloured, flavoured or coated, powdered or polished, as to 
damage or conceal the article or to make it appear better or of greater value than it really is; 
or 

(viii) by the presence of any colouring matter or preservatives other than that specified in 

respect thereof; or 

(ix) by the article having been infected or infested with worms, weevils, or insects; or 

(x) by virtue of its being prepared, packed or kept under insanitary conditions; or 

(xi)  by  virtue  of  its  being  mis-branded  or  sub-standard  or  food  containing  extraneous 

matter; or 

(xii)  by  virtue  of  containing  pesticides  and  other  contaminants  in  excess  of  quantities 

specified by regulations. 

(2) Any reference in this Act to a law which is not in force in the State of Jammu and Kashmir shall, 
in  relation  to  that  State,  be  construed  as  a  reference  to  the  corresponding  Law,  if  any,  in  force  in  that 
State. 

CHAPTER II 

FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF INDIA 

4. Establishment of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.–(1) The Central Government 
shall, by notification, establish a body to be known as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India 
to exercise the powers conferred on, and to perform the functions assigned to, it under this Act. 

(2) The Food Authority shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession 
and a common seal with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, 
and to contract and shall, by the said name, sue or be sued. 

(3) The head office of the Food Authority shall be at Delhi. 

(4) The Food Authority may establish its offices at any other place in India.  

5.  Composition  of Food Authority  and  qualifications for  appointment  of  its  Chairperson  and 
other Members.–(1) The Food Authority shall consist of a Chairperson and the following twenty-two 
members out of which one-third shall be women, namely:– 

(a) seven Members, not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the Government  of India, to be 
appointed by the Central Government, to respectively represent the Ministries or Departments of the 
Central Government dealing with– 

(i) Agriculture, 

(ii) Commerce, 

(iii) Consumer Affairs, 

(iv) Food Processing, 

9 

 
(v) Health, 

(vi) Legislative Affairs, 

(vii) Small Scale Industries, 

(viii) who shall be Members ex officio; 

(b) two representatives from food industry of which one shall be from small scale industries; 

(c) two representatives from consumer organisations; 

(d) three eminent food technologists or scientists; 

(e)  five  members  to  be  appointed  by  rotation  every  three  years,  one  each  in  seriatim  from  the 

Zones as specified in the First Schedule to represent the States and the Union territories; 

(f) two persons to represent farmers’ organisations; 

(g) one person to represent retailers’ organisations. 

(2) The Chairperson and other Members of the Food Authority shall be appointed in such a manner 
so  as  to  secure  the  highest  standards  of  competence,  broad  range  of  relevant  expertise,  and  shall 
represent, the broadest possible geographic distribution within the country. 

(3)  The  Chairperson  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Central  Government  from  amongst  the  persons  of 
eminence  in  the  field  of  food  science  or  from  amongst  the  persons  from  the  administration  who  have 
been associated with the subject and is either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of 
Secretary to the Government of India. 

1[(4)  The  Chairperson  and  the  Members  including  part-time  Members  other  than  the  ex  officio 
embers of the Food Authority may be appointed by the Central Government on the recommendations of 
the Selection Committee.  

(5) The Chairperson of the Food Authority shall not hold any other office.] 

6. Selection Committee for selection of Chairperson and Members of Food Authority.–(1) The 
Central Government shall, for the purpose of selection of the Chairperson and the Members other than ex 
officio Members of the Food Authority, constitute a Selection Committee consisting of– 

(a) Cabinet Secretary–Chairperson, 

(b) Secretary-in-charge of the Ministry or the Department responsible for administration of this 

Act as the convener–Member, 

(c) Secretary-in-charge of the Ministries or the Departments of the Central Government dealing 

with Health, Legislative and Personnel–Members, 

(d) Chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board–Member, 

(e) An eminent food technologist to be nominated by the Central Government–Member. 

Explanation–For  the  purposes  of  clause  (e),  the  Central  Government  shall  nominate  a  person 
from  amongst  persons  holding  the  post  of  Director  or  the  Head,  by  whatever  name  called,  of  any 
national research or technical institution. 

(2) The Central Government shall, within two months from the date of occurrence of any vacancy by 
reason of death, resignation, or removal of the Chairperson or a Member of the Food Authority and three 
months before the superannuation or completion of the term of office of the Chairperson or any Member 
of that Authority, make a reference to the Selection Committee for filling up of the vacancy. 

(3) The Selection Committee shall finalise the selection of the Chairperson and Members of the Food 

Authority within two months from the date on which the reference is made to it. 

(4) The Selection Committee shall recommend a panel of two names for every vacancy referred to it. 

1. Subs. by Act 13 of 2008, s. 3, for sub-sections (4) and (5) (w.e.f. 7-2-2008). 

10 

 
                     
 
(5) Before recommending any person for appointment as a Chairperson or other Member of the Food 
Authority,  the  Selection  Committee  shall  satisfy  itself  that  such  person  does  not  have  any  financial  or 
other interest, which is likely to affect prejudicially his functions as a Member. 

(6)  No  appointment  of  the  Chairperson  or  other  Member  of  the  Food  Authority  shall  be  invalid 

merely by reason of any vacancy in the Selection Committee. 

7.  Term  of  office,  salary,  allowances  and  other  conditions  of  service  of  Chairperson  and 
Members  of  Food  Authority.–(1)  The  Chairperson  and  the  members  other  than  ex  officio  Members 
shall hold office for a term of three years from the date on which they enter upon their offices, and shall 
be eligible for re-appointment for a further period of three years: 

1[Provided that the Chairperson shall not hold office as such after he has attained the age of sixty-five  

years.]  

 (2)  The  salary  and  allowances  payable  to,  and  the  other  terms  and  conditions  of  service  of  the 
Chairperson  and  Members  other  than  ex  officio  Members  shall  be  such  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the 
Central Government. 

(3) The Chairperson and every Member shall, before entering upon his office, make and subscribe to 
an oath of office and of secrecy in such form and in such manner and before such authority as may be 
prescribed by the Central Government. 

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section the Chairperson or any Member may– 

(a) relinquish his office by giving in writing to the Central Government a notice of not less than 

three months; or 

(b) be removed from his office in accordance with the provisions of section 8. 

(5)  The  Chairperson  or  any  Member  ceasing  to  hold  office  as  such  shall  not  represent  any  person 

before the Food Authority or any State Authority in any manner. 

8.  Removal  of  Chairperson  and  Members  of  Food  Authority.–(1)  Notwithstanding  anything 
contained in sub-section (1) of section 7, the Central Government may, by order, remove from office the 
Chairperson or any other Member, if the Chairperson or as the case may be, such other Member,— 

(a) has been adjudged an insolvent; or 

(b) has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involves 

moral turpitude; or 

(c) has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a Member; or 

(d) has acquired such financial or other interests as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions 

as a Member; or 

(e)  has  so  abused  his  position  as  to  render  his  continuance  in  office  prejudicial  to  the  public 

interest. 

(2)  No  Member  shall  be  removed  under  clauses  (d)  and  (e)  of  sub-section  (1)  unless  he  has  been 

given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter. 

9. Officers and other employees of Food Authority.–(1) There shall be a Chief Executive Officer 
of the Food Authority, not below the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India, who shall 
be the Member-Secretary of the Authority, to be appointed by the Central Government. 

(2) The Food Authority may, with the approval of the Central Government, determine the number, 
nature and categories of other officers and employees required to the Food Authority in the discharge of 
its functions. 

(3) The salaries and allowances payable to and other conditions of service of, the Chief Executive 
Officer,  officers,  and  other  employees  shall  be  such  as  may  be  specified  by  regulations  by  the  Food 
Authority with the approval of the Central Government. 

1. Subs.by Act 13 of 2008, s. 4, for the proviso (w.e.f. 7-2-2008). 

11 

 
                     
10. Functions of the Chief Executive Officer.–(1) The Chief  Executive Officer shall be the legal 

representative of the Food Authority and shall be responsible for– 

(a) the day-to-day administration of the Food Authority; 

(b) drawing up of proposal for the Food Authority’s work programmes in consultation with the 

Central Advisory Committee; 

(c) implementing the work programmes and the decisions adopted by the Food Authority; 

(d) ensuring the provision of appropriate scientific, technical and administrative support for the 

Scientific Committee and the Scientific Panel; 

(e) ensuring that the Food Authority carries out its tasks in accordance with the requirements of 

its users, in particular with regard to the adequacy of the services provided and the time taken; 

(f) the preparation of the statement of revenue and expenditure and the execution of the budget of 

the Food Authority; and 

(g) developing and maintaining contact with the Central Government, and for ensuring a regular 

dialogue with its relevant committees. 

(2) Every year, the Chief Executive Officer shall submit to the Food Authority for approval– 

(a) a general report covering all the activities of the Food Authority in the previous year; 

(b) programmes of work; 

(c) the annual accounts for the previous year; and 

(d) the budget for the coming year. 

(3)  The  Chief  Executive  Officer  shall,  following  adoption  by  the  Food  Authority,  forward,  the 
general report and the programmes to the Central Government and the State Governments and shall have 
them published. 

(4) The  Chief  Executive  Officer  shall approve  all financial  expenditure  of  the  Food  Authority  and 

report on the Authority’s activities to the Central Government. 

(5) The Chief Executive Officer shall exercise the powers of the Commissioner of Food Safety while 

dealing with matters relating to food safety of such articles. 

(6)  The  Chief  Executive  Officer  shall  have  administrative  control  over  the  officers  and  other 

employees of the Food Authority. 

11.  Central  Advisory  Committee.–(1)  The  Food  Authority  shall,  by  notification,  establish  a 

Committee to be known as the Central Advisory Committee. 

(2) The Central Advisory Committee shall consist of two members each to represent the interests of 
food  industry,  agriculture,  consumers,  relevant  research  bodies  and  food  laboratories  and  all 
Commissioners  of  Food  Safety,  and  the  Chairperson  of  the  Scientific  Committee  shall  be  ex  officio 
member. 

(3)  The  representatives  of  the  concerned  Ministries  or  Departments  of  the  Central  Government  in 
Agriculture,  Animal  Husbandry  and  Dairying,  Bio-technology,  Commerce  and  Industry,  Consumer 
Affairs,  Environment  and  Forests,  Food  Processing  Industries,  Health,  Panchayati  Raj,  Small  Scale 
Industries  and  Food  and  Public  Distribution  or  government  institutes  or  organisations  and  government 
recognised farmers’ shall be invitees to the deliberations of the Central Advisory Committee. 

(4) The Chief Executive Officer shall be ex officio Chairperson of the Central Advisory Committee. 

(5) The Central Advisory Committee shall follow such rules of procedure including its transaction of 

business as may be specified by regulations. 

12 

 
12. Functions of Central Advisory Committee.–(1) The Central Advisory Committee shall ensure 
close cooperation between the Food Authority and the enforcement agencies and organisations operating 
in the field of food. 

(2) The Central Advisory Committee shall advise the Food Authority on– 

(a) the performance of its duties under this section and in particular in drawing up of a proposal 

for the Food Authority’s work programme, 

(b) on the prioritisation of work, 

(c) identifying potential risks, 

(d) pooling of knowledge, and 

(e) such other functions as may be specified by regulations. 

(3)  The  Central  Advisory  Committee  shall  meet  regularly  at  the  invitation  of  the  Chairperson  of 
Central Advisory Committee or at the request of at least one-third of its members, and not less than three 
times a year. 

13. Scientific Panels.–(1) The Food Authority shall establish scientific panels, which shall consist of 

independent scientific experts. 

(2)  The  Scientific  Panel  shall  invite  the  relevant  industry  and  consumer  representatives  in  its 

deliberations. 

(3) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), the Food Authority may establish as many 

Scientific Panels as it considers necessary in addition to the Panels on: 

(a) food additives, flavourings, processing aids and materials in contact with food; 

(b) pesticides and antibiotics residues; 

(c) genetically modified organisms and foods; 

(d) functional foods, nutraceuticals, dietetic products and other similar products; 

(e) biological hazards; 

(f) contaminants in the food chain; 

(g) labelling; and 

(h) method of sampling and analysis. 

(4)  The  Food  Authority  may  from  time  to  time  re-constitute  the  Scientific  Panels  by  adding  new 

members or by omitting the existing members or by changing the name of the panel as the case may be. 

14. Scientific Committee.–(1) The Food Authority shall constitute Scientific Committee which shall 
consist of the Chairpersons of the Scientific Panels and six independent scientific experts not belonging or 
affiliated to any of the Scientific Panels. 

(2) The  Scientific  Committee  shall  be  responsible  for  providing  the  scientific  opinions  to  the  Food 

Authority, and shall have the powers, where necessary, of organising public hearings. 

(3) The Scientific Committee shall be responsible for the general co-ordination necessary to ensure 
consistency of the scientific opinion procedure and in particular with regard to the adoption of working 
procedures and harmonisation of working methods of the Scientific Panels. 

(4)  The  Scientific  Committee  shall  provide  opinions  on  multi-sectoral  issues  falling  within  the 
competence of more than one Scientific Panel, and on issues which do not fall within the competence of 
any of the Scientific Panels. 

(5)  Wherever  necessary,  and  particularly,  in  the  case  of  subjects  which  do  not  fall  within  the 
competence of any of the Scientific Panel, the Scientific Committee shall set up working groups and in 
such cases, it shall draw on the expertise of those working groups when establishing scientific opinions. 

13 

 
15.  Procedure for  Scientific  Committee  and  Scientific Panel.–(1) The  members  of  the  Scientific 
Committee, who are not members of the Scientific Panel and the members of the Scientific Panel shall be 
appointed by the Food Authority, for  a period of three years, which shall be renewable for such period, 
and the vacancy notice shall be published in the relevant leading scientific publications and on the Food 
Authority’s website for a call for expressions of interest. 

(2) The Scientific Committee and the Scientific Panel shall each choose a Chairperson from amongst 

their members. 

(3) The Scientific Committee and the Scientific Panel shall act by a majority of their members and the 

views of the members shall be recorded. 

(4) The procedure for the operation and co-operation of the Scientific Committee and the Scientific 

Panel shall be specified by regulations. 

(5) These procedures shall relate in particular to– 

(a)  The  number  of  times  that  a  member  can  serve  consecutively  on  a  Scientific  Committee  or 

Scientific Panel; 

(b) the number of members in each Scientific Panel; 

(c) the procedure for re-imbursing the expenses of members of the Scientific Committee and the 

Scientific Panel; 

(d) the manner in which tasks and requests for scientific opinions are assigned to the Scientific 

Committee and the Scientific Panel; 

(e)  The  creation  and  organisation  of  the  working  groups  of  the  Scientific  Committee  and  the 

Scientific Panel, and the possibility of external experts being included in those working groups; 

(f)  The  possibility  of  observers  being  invited  to  meetings  of  the  Scientific  Committee  and  the 

Scientific Panel; 

(g) The possibility of organising public hearings; and 

(h) Quorum of the meeting, meeting notice, agenda of the meeting and such other matters. 

16.  Duties  and  functions  of  Food  Authority.–(1)  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Food  Authority  to 
regulate  and  monitor  the manufacture,  processing,  distribution,  sale and  import  of  food  so as  to  ensure 
safe and wholesome food. 

(2)  Without  prejudice  to  the  provisions  of  sub-section  (1),  the  Food  Authority  may  by  regulations 

specify– 

(a)  the  standards  and  guidelines  in  relation  to  articles  of  food  and  specifying  an  appropriate 

system for enforcing various standards notified under this Act; 

(b)  the  limits  for  use  of  food  additives,  crop  contaminants,  pesticide  residues,  residues  of 
veterinary drugs, heavy metals, processing aids, myco-toxins, antibiotics and pharmacological active 
substances and irradiation of food; 

(c)  the  mechanisms  and  guidelines  for  accreditation  of  certification  bodies  engaged  in 

certification of food safety management systems for food businesses; 

(d)  the  procedure  and  the  enforcement  of  quality  control  in  relation  to  any  article  of  food 

imported into India; 

(e) the procedure and guidelines for accreditation of laboratories and notification of the accredited 

laboratories; 

(f) the method of sampling, analysis and exchange of information among enforcement authorities; 

(g) conduct survey of enforcement and administration of this Act in the country; 

(h) food  labelling  standards  including  claims  on  health,  nutrition,  special  dietary  uses  and  food 

category systems for foods; and 

14 

 
(i)  the  manner  in  which  and  the  procedure  subject  to  which  risk  analysis,  risk  assessment,  risk 

communication and risk management shall be undertaken. 

(3) The Food Authority shall also– 

(a)  provide  scientific  advice  and  technical  support  to  the  Central  Government  and  the  State 
Governments  in  matters  of  framing  the  policy  and  rules  in  areas  which  have  a  direct  or  indirect 
bearing on food safety and nutrition; 

(b)  search,  collect,  collate,  analyse  and  summarise  relevant  scientific  and  technical  data 

particularly relating to– 

(i) food consumption and the exposure of individuals to risks related to the consumption of 

food; 

(ii) incidence and prevalence of biological risk; 

(iii) contaminants in food; 

(iv) residues of various contaminants; 

(v) identification of emerging risks; and 

(vi) introduction of rapid alert system; 

(c)  promote,  co-ordinate  and  issue  guidelines  for  the  development  of  risk  assessment 
methodologies and monitor and conduct and forward messages on the health and nutritional risks of 
food to the Central Government, State Governments and Commissioners of Food Safety; 

(d) provide scientific and technical advice and assistance to the Central Government and the State 
Governments in implementation of crisis management procedures with regard to food safety and to 
draw up a general plan for crisis management and work in close co-operation with the crisis unit set 
up by the Central Government in this regard; 

(e)  establish  a  system  of  network  of  organisations  with  the  aim  to  facilitate  a  scientific  co-
operation framework by the co-ordination of activities, the exchange of information, the development 
and implementation of joint projects, the exchange of expertise and best practices in the fields within 
the Food Authority’s responsibility; 

(f)  provide  scientific  and  technical  assistance  to  the  Central  Government  and  the  State 

Governments for improving co-operation with international organisations; 

(g)  take  all  such  steps  to  ensure  that  the  public,  consumers,  interested  parties  and  all  levels  of 
panchayats  receive  rapid,  reliable,  objective  and  comprehensive  information  through  appropriate 
methods and means; 

(h)  provide,  whether  within  or  outside  their  area,  training  programmes  in  food  safety  and 
standards  for  persons  who  are  or  intend  to  become  involved  in  food  businesses,  whether  as  food 
business operators or employees or otherwise; 

(i) undertake any other task assigned to it by the Central Government to carry out the objects of 

this Act; 

(j) contribute to the development of international technical standards for food, sanitary and phyto-

sanitary standards; 

(k) contribute, where relevant and appropriate to the development of agreement on recognition of 

the equivalence of specific food related measures; 

(l)  promote  co-ordination  of  work  on  food  standards  undertaken  by  international  governmental 

and non-governmental organisations; 

(m) promote consistency between international technical standards and domestic food standards 

while ensuring that the level of protection adopted in the country is not reduced; and 

(n) promote general awareness as to food safety and food standards. 

15 

 
 
 
(4) The Food Authority shall make it public without undue delay– 

(a) the opinions of the Scientific Committee and the Scientific Panel immediately after adoption; 

(b)  the  annual  declarations  of  interest  made  by  members  of  the  Food  Authority,  the  Chief 
Executive  Officer,  members  of  the  Advisory  Committee  and  members  of  the  Scientific  Committee 
and  Scientific  Panel,  as  well as  the  declarations  of interest  if  any,  made  in  relation  to items  on  the 
agendas of meetings; 

(c) the results of its scientific studies; and 

(d) the annual report of its activities. 

(5) The Food Authority may, from time to time give such directions, on matters relating to food safety 
and  standards,  to  the  Commissioner  of  Food  Safety,  who  shall  be  bound  by  such  directions  while 
exercising his powers under this Act. 

(6)  The  Food  Authority  shall  not  disclose  or  cause  to  be  disclosed  to  third  parties  confidential 
information  that  it  receives  for  which  confidential  treatment  has  been  requested  and  has  been  acceded, 
except for information which must be made public if circumstances so require, in order to protect public 
health. 

17. Proceedings of Food Authority.–(1) The Food Authority shall meet at the head office or any of 
its offices at such time as the Chairperson may direct, and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard 
to the transaction of business at its meetings (including the quorum at its meetings) as may be specified by 
regulations. 

(2)  If  the  Chairperson  is  unable  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Food  Authority,  any  other  Member 
nominated by the Chairperson in this behalf and, in the absence of such nomination or where there is no 
Chairperson, any Member chosen by the Members present from amongst themselves, shall preside at the 
meeting. 

(3)  All  questions  which  come  up  before  any  meeting  of  the  Food  Authority  shall  be  decided  by  a 
majority  of  votes  of  the  Members  present  and  voting,  and  in  the  event  of  an  equality  of  votes,  the 
Chairperson or the person presiding over the meeting shall have the right to exercise a second or casting 
vote. 

(4)  All  orders  and  decisions  of  the  Food  Authority  shall  be  authenticated  by  the  Chief  Executive 

Officer. 

(5) The Chief Executive Officer shall take part in the meetings of the Food Authority but without a 

right to vote. 

(6) The Food Authority may invite the Chairperson of the Scientific Committee to attend its meetings 

but without a right to vote. 

(7)  No  act  or  proceedings  of  the  Food  Authority  shall  be  questioned  or  invalidated  merely  on  the 

ground of existence of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of Food Authority. 

CHAPTER III 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FOOD SAFETY 

18. General principles to be followed in administration of Act.–The Central Government, the State 
Governments,  the  Food  Authority  and  other  agencies,  as  the  case  may  be,  while  implementing  the 
provisions of this Act shall be guided by the following principles namely:– 

(1) (a) endeavour to achieve an appropriate level of protection of human life and health and the 
protection of consumer’s interests, including fair practices in all kinds of food trade with reference to 
food safety standards and practices; 

(b)  carry  out  risk  management  which  shall  include  taking  into  account  the  results  of  risk 
assessment  and  other  factors  which  in the  opinion  of  the  Food  Authority  are  relevant  to  the  matter 
under consideration and where the conditions are relevant, in order to achieve the general objectives 
of regulations; 

16 

 
(c) where in any specific circumstances, on the basis of assessment of available information, the 
possibility of harmful effects on health is identified but scientific uncertainty persists, provisional risk 
management  measures  necessary  to  ensure  appropriate  level  of  health  protection  may  be  adopted, 
pending further scientific information for a more comprehensive risk assessment; 

(d) the measures adopted on the basis of clause (c) shall be proportionate and no more restrictive 
of  trade  than  is  required  to  achieve  appropriate  level  of  health  protection,  regard  being  had  to 
technical and economic feasibility and other factors regarded as reasonable and proper in the matter 
under consideration; 

(e) the measures adopted shall be reviewed within a reasonable period of time, depending on the 
nature  of  the  risk  to  life  or  health  being  identified  and  the  type  of  scientific  information  needed  to 
clarify the scientific uncertainty and to conduct a more comprehensive risk assessment; 

(f)  in  cases  where  there  are  reasonable  grounds  to  suspect  that  a  food  may  present  a  risk  for 
human health, then, depending on the nature, seriousness and extent of that risk, the Food Authority 
and the Commissioner of Food Safety shall take appropriate steps to inform the general public of the 
nature of the risk to health, identifying to the fullest extent possible the food or type of food, the risk 
that  it  may  present,  and  the  measures  which  are  taken  or  about  to  be  taken  to  prevent,  reduce  or 
eliminate that risk; and  

(g) where any food which fails to comply with food safety requirements is part of a batch, lot or 
consignment  of  food  of  the  same  class  or  description,  it  shall  be  presumed  until  the  contrary  is 
proved, that all of the food in that batch, lot or consignment fails to comply with those requirements. 

(2) The Food Authority shall, while framing regulations or specifying standards under this Act– 

(a) take into account– 

(i) prevalent practices and conditions in the country including agricultural practices and 

handling, storage and transport conditions; and 

(ii) international standards and practices, where international standards or practices exist 

or are in the process of being formulated, 

unless  it  is  of  opinion  that  taking  into  account  of  such  prevalent  practices  and  conditions  or 
international  standards  or  practices  or  any  particular  part  thereof  would  not  be  an  effective  or 
appropriate  means  for  securing  the  objectives  of  such  regulations  or  where  there  is  a  scientific 
justification or where they would result in a different level of protection from the one determined as 
appropriate in the country; 

(b) determine food standards on the basis of risk analysis except where it is of opinion that 

such analysis is not appropriate to the circumstances or the nature of the case; 

(c)  undertake  risk  assessment  based  on  the  available  scientific  evidence  and  in  an 

independent, objective and transparent manner; 

(d)  ensure  that  there  is  open  and  transparent  public  consultation,  directly  or  through 
representative  bodies  including  all  levels  of  panchayats,  during  the  preparation,  evaluation  and 
revision  of  regulations,  except  where  it  is  of  opinion  that  there  is  an  urgency  concerning  food 
safety or public health to make or amend the regulations in which case such consultation may be 
dispensed with: 

Provided that such regulations shall be in force for not more than six months; 

(e) ensure protection of the interests of consumers and shall provide a basis for consumers to 

make informed choices in relation to the foods they consume; 

(f) ensure prevention of– 

(i)  fraudulent,  deceptive  or  unfair  trade  practices  which  may  mislead  or  harm  the 

consumer; and 

(ii) unsafe or contaminated or sub-standard food. 

17 

 
(3) The provisions of this Act shall not apply to any farmer or fisherman or farming operations or 
crops  or  livestock  or  aquaculture,  and  supplies  used  or  produced  in  farming  or  products  of  crops 
produced by a farmer at farm level or a fisherman in his operations. 

CHAPTER IV 

GENERAL POVISIONS AS TO ARTICLES OF FOOD 

19.  Use  of  food  additive  or  processing  aid.–No  article  of  food  shall  contain  any  food  additive  or 

processing aid unless it is in accordance with the provisions of this Act and regulations made thereunder. 

Explanation.–For the purposes of this section, ―processing aid‖ means any substance or material, not 
including apparatus or utensils, and not consumed as a food ingredient by itself, used in the processing of 
raw  materials,  foods  or  its  ingredients  to  fulfil  a  certain  technological  purpose  during  treatment  or 
processing  and  which  may  result  in  the  non-intentional  but  unavoidable  presence  of  residues  or 
derivatives in the final product. 

20.  Contaminants,  naturally  occurring  toxic  substances,  heavy  metals,  etc.–No  article  of  food 
shall contain any contaminant, naturally occurring toxic substances or toxins or hormone or heavy metals 
in excess of such quantities as may be specified by regulations. 

21. Pesticides, veterinary drugs residues, antibiotic residues and microbiological counts.–(1) No 
article  of  food  shall  contain  insecticides  or  pesticides  residues,  veterinary  drugs  residues,  antibiotic 
residues,  solvent  residues,  pharmacological  active  substances  and  micro-biological  counts  in  excess  of 
such tolerance limit as may be specified by regulations. 

(2) No insecticide shall be used directly on article of food except fumigants registered and approved 

under the Insecticides Act, 1968 (46 of 1968). 

Explanation.–For the purposes of this section,– 

(1) ―pesticide residue‖ means any specified substance in food resulting from the use of a pesticide 
and  includes  any  derivatives  of  a  pesticide,  such  as  conversion  products,  metabolites,  reaction 
products and impurities considered to be of toxicological significance and also includes such residues 
coming into food from environment; 

(2) ―residues of veterinary drugs‖ include the parent compounds or their metabolites or both in 
any  edible  portion  of  any  animal  product  and  include  residues  of  associated  impurities  of  the 
veterinary drugs concerned. 

22. Genetically modified foods, organic foods, functional foods, proprietary foods, etc.–Save as 
otherwise  provided  under  this  Act  and  regulations  made  thereunder,  no  person  shall  manufacture, 
distribute,  sell  or  import  any  novel  food,  genetically  modified  articles  of  food,  irradiated  food,  organic 
foods,  foods  for  special  dietary  uses,  functional  foods,  neutraceuticals,  health  supplements,  proprietary 
foods and such other articles of food which the Central Government may notify in this behalf. 

Explanation.–For the purposes of this section,– 

(1) ―foods for special dietary uses or functional foods or nutraceuticals or health supplements‖ means: 

(a) foods  which  are  specially  processed  or  formulated  to  satisfy  particular  dietary  requirements 
which  exist  because  of  a  particular  physical  or  physiological  condition  or  specific  diseases  and 
disorders and which are presented as such, wherein the composition of these foodstuffs must differ 
significantly  from  the  composition  of  ordinary  foods  of  comparable  nature,  if  such  ordinary  foods 
exist, and may contain one or more of the following ingredients, namely:– 

(i) plants or botanicals or their parts in the form of powder, concentrate or extract in water, 

ethyl alcohol or hydro alcoholic extract, single or in combination; 

(ii) minerals or vitamins or proteins or metals or their compounds or amino acids (in amounts 
not exceeding  the  Recommended  Daily  Allowance for  Indians)  or  enzymes  (within  permissible 
limits); 

(iii) substances from animal origin; 

18 

 
(iv) a dietary substance for use by human beings to supplement the diet by increasing the total 

dietary intake; 

(b)  (i)  a  product  that  is  labelled  as  a  ―Food  for  special  dietary  uses  or  functional  foods  or 
nutraceuticals  or  health  supplements  or  similar  such  foods‖  which  is  not  represented  for  use  as  a 
conventional food and whereby such products may be formulated in the form of powders, granules, 
tablets,  capsules,  liquids,  jelly  and  other  dosage  forms  but  not  parenterals,  and  are  meant  for  oral 
administration; 

(ii) such product does not include a drug as defined in clause (b) and ayurvedic, sidha and unani 
drugs  as  defined  in  clauses  (a)  and  (h)  of  section  3  of  the  Drugs  and  Cosmetics  Act,  1940  (23  of 
1940) and rules made thereunder; 

(iii)  does  not  claim  to  cure  or  mitigate  any  specific  disease,  disorder  or  condition  (except  for 
certain health benefit or such promotion claims) as may be permitted by the regulations made under 
this Act; 

(iv) does not include a narcotic drug or a psychotropic substance as defined in the Schedule of the 
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (61 of 1985) and rules made thereunder and 
substances listed in Schedules E and EI of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945; 

(2)    ―genetically  engineered  or  modified  food‖  means  food  and  food  ingredients  composed  of  or 
containing genetically modified or engineered organisms obtained through modern biotechnology, or food 
and  food  ingredients  produced  from  but  not  containing  genetically  modified  or  engineered  organisms 
obtained through modern biotechnology; 

(3) ―organic food‖ means food products that have been produced in accordance with specified organic 

production standards; 

(4) ―proprietary and novel food‖ means an article of food for which standards have not been specified 

but is not unsafe: 

Provided that such food does not contain any of the foods and ingredients prohibited under this Act 

and the regulations made thereunder. 

23. Packaging and labelling of foods.–(1) No person shall manufacture, distribute, sell or expose for 
sale  or  despatch  or  deliver  to  any  agent  or  broker  for  the  purpose  of  sale,  any  packaged  food  products 
which are not marked and labelled in the manner as may be specified by regulations: 

Provided  that  the  labels  shall  not  contain  any  statement,  claim,  design  or  device  which  is  false  or 
misleading  in  any  particular  concerning  the  food  products  contained  in  the  package  or  concerning  the 
quantity  or  the  nutritive  value  implying  medicinal  or  therapeutic  claims  or  in  relation  to  the  place  of 
origin of the said food products. 

(2)  Every  food  business  operator shall  ensure  that  the  labelling  and  presentation  of  food, including 
their  shape,  appearance  or  packaging,  the  packaging  materials  used,  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
arranged and the setting in which they are displayed, and the information which is made available about 
them through whatever medium, does not mislead consumers. 

24. Restrictions of advertisement and prohibition as to unfair trade practices.–No advertisement 
shall be made of any food which is misleading or deceiving or contravenes the provisions of this Act, the 
rules and regulations made thereunder. 

(2)  No  person  shall  engage  himself  in  any  unfair  trade  practice  for  purpose  of  promoting  the  sale, 
supply, use and consumption of articles of food or adopt any unfair or deceptive practice including the 
practice of making any statement, whether orally or in writing or by visible representation which– 

(a)  falsely  represents  that  the  foods  are  of  a  particular  standard,  quality,  quantity  or  grade-

composition; 

(b) makes a false or misleading representation concerning the need for, or the usefulness; 

(c) gives to the public any guarantee of the efficacy that is not based on an adequate or scientific 

justification thereof: 

19 

 
Provided that where a defence is raised to the effect that such guarantee is based on adequate or 
scientific  justification,  the  burden  of  proof  of  such  defence  shall  lie  on  the  person  raising  such 
defence. 

CHAPTER V 

PROVISIONS RELATING TO IMPORT 

25. All imports of articles of food to be subject to this Act.–No person shall import into India– 

(i) any unsafe or misbranded or sub-standard food or food containing extraneous matter; 

(ii)  any  article  of  food  for  the  import  of  which  a  licence  is  required  under  any  Act  or  rules  or 

regulations, except in accordance with the conditions of the licence; and 

(iii)  any  article  of  food  in  contravention  of  any  other  provision  of  this  Act  or  of  any  rule  or 

regulation made thereunder or any other Act. 

(2)  The  Central  Government  shall,  while  prohibiting,  restricting  or  otherwise  regulating  import  of 
article of food under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992), follow the 
standards laid down by the Food Authority under the provisions of this Act and the Rules and regulations 
made thereunder. 

CHAPTER VI 

SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AS TO FOOD SAFETY 

26. Responsibilities of the Food business operator.–(1) Every food business operator shall ensure 
that the articles of food satisfy the requirements of this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder 
at  all  stages  of  production,  processing,  import,  distribution  and  sale  within  the  businesses  under  his 
control. 

(2) No food business operator shall himself or by any person on his behalf manufacture, store, sell or 

distribute any article of food– 

(i) which is unsafe; or 

(ii) which is misbranded or sub-standard or contains extraneous matter; or 

(iii) for which a licence is required, except in accordance with the conditions of the licence; or 

(iv) which is for the time being prohibited by the Food Authority or the Central Government or 

the State Government in the interest of public health; or 

(v)  in  contravention  of  any  other  provision  of  this  Act  or  of  any  rule  or  regulation  made 

thereunder. 

(3) No food business operator shall employ any person who is suffering from infectious, contagious 

or loathsome disease. 

(4) No food business operator shall sell or offer for sale any article of food to any vendor unless he 
also gives a guarantee in writing in the form specified by regulations about the nature and quality of such 
article to the vendor: 

Provided that a bill, cash memo, or invoice in respect of the sale of any article of food given by a food 
business operator to the vendor shall be deemed to be a guarantee under this section, even if a guarantee 
in the specified form is not included in the bill, cash memo or invoice. 

(5) Where any food which is unsafe is part of a batch, lot or consignment of food of the same class or 
description, it shall be presumed that all the food in that batch, lot or consignment is also unsafe, unless 
following a detailed assessment within a specified time, it is found that there is no evidence that the rest 
of the batch, lot or consignment is unsafe: 

Provided  that  any  conformity  of  a  food  with  specific  provisions  applicable  to  that  food  shall  be 
without prejudice to the competent authorities taking appropriate measures to impose restrictions on that 
food  being  placed  on  the  market  or  to  require  its  withdrawal  from  the  market  for  the  reasons  to  be 
recorded in writing where such authorities suspect that, despite the conformity, the food is unsafe. 

20 

 
27.  Liability  of  manufacturers,  packers,  wholesalers,  distributors  and  sellers.–(1)  The 
manufacturer or packer of an article of food shall be liable for such article of food if it does not meet the 
requirements of this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder. 

(2) The wholesaler or distributor shall be liable under this Act for any article of food which is– 

(a) supplied after the date of its expiry; or 

(b) stored or supplied in violation of the safety instructions of the manufacturer; or 

(c) unsafe or misbranded; or 

(d) unidentifiable of manufacturer from whom the article of food have been received; or 

(e) stored or handled or kept in violation of the provisions of this Act, the rules and regulations 

made thereunder; or 

(f) received by him with knowledge of being unsafe. 

(3) The seller shall be liable under this Act for any article of food which is– 

(a) sold after the date of its expiry; or 

(b) handled or kept in unhygienic conditions; or 

(c) misbranded; or 

(d) unidentifiable of the manufacturer or the distributors from whom such articles of food were 

received; or 

(e) received by him with knowledge of being unsafe. 

28. Food recall procedures.–(1) If a food business operator considers or has reasons to believe that a 
food which he has processed, manufactured or distributed is not in compliance with this Act, or the rules 
or regulations, made thereunder, he shall immediately initiate procedures to withdraw the food in question 
from the market and consumers indicating reasons for its withdrawal and inform the competent authorities 
thereof. 

(2) A food business operator shall immediately inform the competent authorities and co-operate with 
them,  if  he  considers  or  has  reasons  to  believe  that  a  food  which  he  has  placed  on  the  market  may  be 
unsafe for the consumers. 

(3) The food business operator shall inform the competent authorities of the action taken to prevent 
risks  to  the  consumer  and shall  not  prevent  or  discourage  any  person  from  co-operating,  in  accordance 
with this Act, with the competent authorities, where this may prevent, reduce or eliminate a risk arising 
from a food. 

(4) Every food business operator shall  follow such conditions and guidelines relating to food recall 

procedures as the Food Authority may specify by regulations. 

CHAPTER VII 

ENFORCEMENT OF THE ACT 

29.  Authorities  responsible  for  enforcement  of  Act.–(1)  The  Food  Authority  and  the  State  Food 

Safety Authorities shall be responsible for the enforcement of this Act. 

(2)  The  Food  Authority  and  the  State  Food  Safety  Authorities  shall  monitor  and  verify  that  the 

relevant requirements of law are fulfilled by food business operators at all stages of food business. 

(3)  The  authorities  shall  maintain  a  system  of  control  and  other  activities  as  appropriate  to  the 
circumstances,  including  public  communication  on  food  safety  and  risk,  food  safety  surveillance  and 
other monitoring activities covering all stages of food business. 

(4) The  Food  Safety  Officers  shall  enforce  and  execute  within  their  area  the  provisions  of  this  Act 
with  respect  to  which  the  duty  is  not  imposed  expressly  or  by  necessary  implication  on  some  other 
authority. 

21 

 
(5) The regulations under this Act shall specify which of the Food Safety Officers are to enforce and 
execute them, either generally or in relation to cases of a particular description or a particular area, and 
any such regulations or orders may provide for the giving of assistance and information by any authority 
concerned in  11the administration  of  the  regulations or  orders,  or  of  any  provisions  of  this  Act,  to  any 
other authority so concerned, for the purposes of their respective duties under them. 

(6) The Commissioner of Food Safety and Designated Officer shall exercise the same powers as are 

conferred on the Food Safety Officer and follow the same procedure specified in this Act. 

30.  Commissioner  of  Food  Safety  of  the  State.–(1)  The  State  Government  shall  appoint  the 
Commissioner of Food Safety for the State for efficient implementation of food safety and standards and 
other requirements laid down under this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder. 

(2) The Commissioner of Food Safety shall perform all or any of the following functions, namely:– 

(a) prohibit in the interest of public health, the manufacture, storage, distribution or sale of any 
article  of  food,  either  in  the  whole  of  the  State  or  any  area  or  part  thereof  for  such  period,  not 
exceeding one year, as may be specified in the order notified in this behalf in the Official Gazette; 

(b) carry out survey of the industrial units engaged in the manufacture or processing of food in 
the  State  to  find  out  compliance  by  such  units  of  the  standards  notified  by  the  Food  Authority  for 
various articles of food; 

(c) conduct or organise training programmes for the personnel of the office of the Commissioner 
of Food Safety and, on a wider scale, for different segments of food chain for generating awareness 
on food safety; 

(d)  ensure  an  efficient  and  uniform  implementation  of  the  standards  and  other  requirements  as 
specified  and  also  ensure  a  high  standard  of  objectivity,  accountability,  practicability,  transparency 
and credibility; 

(e) sanction prosecution for offences punishable with imprisonment under this Act; 

(f) such other functions as the State Government may, in consultation with the Food Authority, 

prescribe. 

(3)  The  Commissioner  of  Food  Safety  may,  by  Order,  delegate,  subject  to  such  conditions  and 
restrictions as may be specified in the Order, such of his powers and functions under this Act (except the 
power to appoint Designated Officer, Food Safety Officer and Food Analyst) as he may deem necessary 
or expedient to any officer subordinate to him. 

31.  Licensing  and  registration  of  food  business.–(1)  No  person  shall  commence  or  carry  on  any 

food business except under a licence. 

(2)  Nothing  contained  in  sub-section  (1)  shall  apply  to  a  petty  manufacturer  who  himself 
manufactures or sells any article of food or a petty retailer, hawker, itinerant vendor or a temporary stall 
holder or small scale or cottage or such other industries relating to food business or tiny food business 
operator; but they shall register themselves with such authority and in such manner as may be specified 
by regulations, without prejudice to the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption 
or affecting the interests of the consumers. 

(3)  Any  person  desirous to  commence  or  carry  on  any  food  business shall  make  an  application for 
grant of a licence to the Designated Officer in such manner containing such particulars and fees as may be 
specified by regulations. 

(4) The  Designated  Officer  on receipt  of  an  application  under  sub-section  (3), may  either  grant  the 
licence  or  after  giving  the  applicant  an  opportunity  of  being  heard  and  for  reasons  to  be  recorded  in 
writing,  refuse  to  grant  a  licence  to  any  applicant,  if  he  is  satisfied  that  it  is  necessary  so  to  do  in  the 
interest of public health and shall make available to the applicant a copy of the order: 

Provided that if a licence is not issued within two months from the date of making the application or 
his application is not rejected, the applicant may start his food business after expiry of the said period and 
in  such  a  case,  the  Designated  Officer  shall  not  refuse  to  issue  a  licence  but  may,  if  he  considers 
necessary, issue an improvement notice, under section 32 and follow procedures in that regard. 

22 

 
(5)  Every  licence  shall  be  in  such  form  and  subject  to  such  conditions  as  may  be  specified  by 

regulations. 

(6) A single licence may be issued by the Designated Officer for one or more articles of food and also 

for different establishments or premises in the same area. 

(7)  If  the  articles  of  food  are  manufactured,  stored,  sold  or  exhibited  for  sale  at  different  premises 
situated in more than one area, separate applications shall be made and separate licence shall be issued in 
respect of such premises not falling within the same area. 

(8) An appeal against the order of rejection for the grant of licence shall lie to the Commissioner of 

Food Safety. 

(9)  A  licence  unless  suspended  or  cancelled  earlier  shall  be  in  force  for  such  period  as  may  be 

specified by regulations: 

Provided  that  if  an  application  for  a  renewal  of  licence  is  made  before  the  expiry  of  the  period  of 

validity of the licence, the licence shall continue to be in force until orders are passed on the application. 

(10) The  licence shall subsist for  the  benefit  of the  deceased’s  personal representative  or any  other 

member of his family, until the expiry of– 

(a) the period of three months beginning with his death; or 

(b) such longer period as the Designated Officer may allow. 

32. Improvement notices.–(1) If the Designated Officer has reasonable ground for believing that any 
food business operator has failed to comply with any regulations to which this section applies, he may, by 
a notice served on that food business operator (in this Act referred to as an ―improvement notice‖)– 

(a) state the grounds for believing that the food business operator has failed to comply with the 

regulations; 

(b) specify the matters which constitute the food business operator’s failure so to comply; 

(c) specify the measures which, in the  opinion of the said Authority, the food business operator 

must take, in order to secure compliance; and 

(d)  require  the  food  business  operator  to  take  those  measures,  or  measures  which  are  at  least 
equivalent to them, within a reasonable period (not being less than fourteen days) as may be specified 
in the notice. 

(2)  If  the  food  business  operator  fails  to  comply  with  an  improvement  notice,  his  licence  may  be 

suspended. 

(3)  If  the  food  business  operator  still  fails  to  comply  with  the  improvement  notice,  the  Designated 

Officer may, after giving the licensee an opportunity to show cause, cancel the licence granted to him: 

Provided  that  the  Designated  Officer  may  suspend  any  licence  forthwith  in  the  interest  of  public 

health for reasons to be recorded in writing. 

(4) Any person who is aggrieved by– 

(a) an improvement notice; or 

(b) refusal to issue a certificate as to improvement; or 

(c) cancellation or suspension or revocation of licence under this Act,  

may appeal to the Commissioner of Food Safety whose decision thereon, shall be final. 

(5) The period within which such an appeal may be brought shall be– 

(a) fifteen days from the date on which notice of the decision was served on the person desiring to 

appeal; or 

(b) in the case of an appeal under sub-section (1), the said period or the period specified in the 

improvement notice, whichever expires earlier. 

23 

 
Explanation–For the purpose of this sub-section, the making of the complaint shall be deemed to 

be the bringing of the appeal. 

33. Prohibition orders.–(1) If – 

(a) any food business operator is convicted of an offence under this Act; and 

(b)  the  court  by  or  before  which  he  is  so  convicted  is  satisfied  that  the  health  risk  exists  with 

respect to that food business, 

the court, after giving the food business operator an opportunity of being heard, may by an order, impose 
the following prohibitions, namely:– 

(i) a prohibition on the use of the process or treatment for the purposes of the food business; 

(ii) a prohibition on the use of the premises or equipment for the purposes of the food business or 

any other food business of the same class or description; 

(iii) a prohibition on the use of the premises or equipment for the purposes of any food business.  

(2) The court may, on being satisfied that it is necessary so to do, by an order, impose a prohibition on 
the food business operator participating in the management of any food business, or any food business of 
a class or description specified in the order. 

(3) As soon as practicable after the making of an order under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) (in 

this Act referred to as a ―prohibition order‖), the concerned Food Safety Officer shall– 

(a) serve a copy of the order on the food business operator; and 

(b) in the case of an order under sub-section (1), affix a copy of the order at a conspicuous place 

on such premises used for the purposes of the food business, 

and any person who knowingly contravenes such an order shall be guilty of an offence and be punishable 
with a fine which may extend to three lakh rupees. 

(4)  The  concerned  Food  Safety  Officer  shall  with  the  approval  of  the  Designated  Officer  issue  a 
certificate to the effect that the food business operator has taken sufficient measures justifying lifting of 
the prohibition order, within seven days of his being satisfied on an application made by the food business 
operator for such a certificate or the said officer shall– 

(a) determine, as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any event within fourteen days, whether 

or not he is so satisfied; and 

(b)  if  he  determines  that  he  is  not  so  satisfied,  give  notice  to the  food  business  operator  of  the 

reasons for that determination. 

(5)  A  prohibition  order  shall  cease  to  have  effect  upon  the  court  being  satisfied,  on  an  application 
made by the food business operator not less than six months after the prohibition order has been passed, 
that the food business operator has taken sufficient measures justifying the lifting of the prohibition order. 

(6) The court shall give a direction on an application by the food business operator, if the court thinks 
it proper so to do having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including in particular, the conduct of 
the food business operator since the making of the order; but no such application shall be entertained if it 
is not made– 

(a) within six months after the making of the prohibition order; or 

(b) within three months after the making by the food business operator of a previous application 

for such a direction. 

Explanation.–For the purpose of this section,– 

(i)  any  reference  above  shall  apply  in  relation  to  a  manager  of  a  food  business  as  it  applies  in 
relation to the food business operator; and any reference to the food business operator of the business, 
or to the food business operator, shall be construed accordingly; 

(ii)  ―manager‖,  in  relation  to  a  food  business,  means  any  person  who  is  entrusted  by  the  food 

business operator with the day-to-day running of the business, or any part of the business. 

24 

 
34.  Emergency  prohibition  notices  and  orders.–(1)  If  the  Designated  Officer  is  satisfied  that  the 
health risk condition exists with respect to any food business, he may, after a notice served on the food 
business  operator  (in  this  Act  referred  to  as  an  ―emergency  prohibition  notice‖),  apply  to  the 
Commissioner of Food Safety for imposing the prohibition. 

(2)  If  the  Commissioner  of  Food  Safety  is  satisfied,  on  the  application  of  such  an  officer,  that  the 
health  risk  condition  exists  with  respect  to  any  food  business,  he  shall,  by  an  order,  impose  the 
prohibition. 

(3) The Designated Officer shall not apply for an emergency prohibition order unless, at least one day 
before the date of the application, he has served notice on the food business operator of the business of his 
intention to apply for the order. 

(4) As soon as practicable after the making of an emergency prohibition order, the Designated Officer 

shall require the Food Safety Officer to– 

(a) serve a copy of the order on the food business operator of the business; or 

(b) affix a copy of the order at a conspicuous place on such premises used for the purposes of that 

business; 

and  any  person  who  knowingly  contravenes  such  an  order  shall  be  guilty  of  an  offence  and  shall  be 
punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years and with fine which may extend 
to two lakh rupees. 

(5) An emergency prohibition order shall cease to have effect on the issue by the Designated Officer 
of  a  certificate  to  the  effect  that  he  is  satisfied  that  the  food  business  operator  has  taken  sufficient 
measures for justifying the lifting of such order. 

(6)  The  Designated  Officer  shall  issue  a  certificate  under  sub-section  (5)  within  seven  days  of  an 
application  by  the  food  business  operator  for  such  a  certificate  and  on  his  being  not  satisfied,  the  said 
officer shall give notice to the food business operator within a period of ten days indicating the reasons 
for such decision. 

35.  Notification  of  food  poisoning.–The  Food  Authority  may,  by  notification,  require  registered 
medical practitioners carrying on their profession in any local area specified in the notification, to report 
all occurrences of food poisoning coming to their notice to such officer as may be specified. 

36. Designated Officer.–The Commissioner of Food Safety shall, by order, appoint the Designated 
Officer,  who  shall  not  be  below  the  rank  of  a  Sub-Divisional  Officer,  to  be  in-charge  of  food  safety 
administration in such area as may be specified by regulations. 

(2) There shall be a Designated Officer for each district. 

(3) The functions to be performed by the Designated Officer shall be as follows, namely:— 

(a) to issue or cancel licence of food business operators; 

(b) to prohibit the sale of any article of food which is in contravention of the provisions of this 

Act and rules and regulations made thereunder; 

(c)  to  receive  report  and  samples  of  article  of  foods  from  Food  Safety  Officer  under  his 

jurisdiction and get them analysed; 

(d)  to  make  recommendations  to  the  Commissioner  of  Food  Safety  for  sanction  to  launch 

prosecutions in case of contraventions punishable with imprisonment; 

(e) to sanction or launch prosecutions in cases of contraventions punishable with fine; 

(f) to maintain record of all inspections made by Food Safety Officers and action taken by them in 

the performance of their duties; 

(g)  to  get  investigated  any  complaint  which  may  be  made  in  writing  in  respect  of  any 

contravention of the provisions of this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder; 

(h) to investigate any complaint which may be made in writing against the Food Safety Officer; 

and 

25 

 
(i) to perform such other duties as may be entrusted by the Commissioner of Food Safety. 

37. Food Safety Officer.–(1) The Commissioner of Food Safety shall, by notification, appoint such 
persons as he thinks fit, having the qualifications prescribed by the Central Government, as Food Safety 
Officers for such local areas as he may assign to them for the purpose of performing functions under this 
Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder. 

(2)  The  State  Government  may  authorise  any  officer  of  the  State  Government  having  the 
qualifications prescribed under sub-section (1) to perform the functions of a Food Safety Officer within a 
specified jurisdiction. 

38. Powers of Food Safety Officer.–(1) The Food Safety Officer may– 

(a) take a sample– 

(i)  of any  food,  or  any  substance,  which  appears to  him  to  be  intended  for  sale,  or  to have 

been sold for human consumption; or 

(ii) of any article of food or substance which is found by him on or in any such premises; 

which he has reason to believe that it may be required as evidence in proceedings under any of the 
provisions of this Act or of the regulations or orders made thereunder; or 

(b) seize any article of food which appears to the Food Safety Officer to be in contravention of 

this Act or the regulations made thereunder; and 

(c)  keep  it  in  the  safe  custody  of  the  food  business  operator  such  article  of  food  after  taking  a 

sample; 

and  in  both  cases  send  the  same  for  analysis  to  a  Food  Analyst  for  the  local  area  within  which  such 
sample has been taken: 

Provided  that  where  the  Food  Safety  Officer  keeps  such  article  in  the  safe  custody  of  the  food 
business operator, he may require the food business operator to execute a bond for a sum of money equal 
to the value of such article with one or more sureties as the Food Safety Officer deems fit and the food 
business operator shall execute the bond accordingly. 

(2)  The  Food  Safety  Officer  may  enter  and  inspect  any  place  where  the  article  of  food  is 
manufactured, or stored for sale, or stored for the manufacture of any other article of food, or exposed or 
exhibited for sale and where any adulterant is  manufactured or kept, and take samples of such articles 
of food or adulterant for analysis. 

(3) Where any sample is taken, its cost calculated at the rate at which the article is usually sold to the 

public shall be paid to the person from whom it is taken. 

(4) Where any article of food seized under clause (b) of sub-ection (1) is of a perishable nature and 
the Food Safety Officer is satisfied that such article of food is so deteriorated that it is unfit for human 
consumption, the Food Safety Officer may, after giving notice in writing to the food business operator, 
cause the same to be destroyed. 

(5) The Food Safety Officer shall, in exercising the powers of entry upon, and inspection of any place 
under this section, follow, as far as may be, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 
1974) relating to the search or inspection of a place by a police officer executing a search warrant issued 
under that Code. 

(6) Any adulterant found in the possession of a manufacturer or distributor of, or dealer in, any article 
of food or in any of the premises occupied by him as such and for the possession of which he is unable to 
account to the satisfaction of the Food Safety Officer and any books of account or other documents found 
in his possession or control and which would be useful for, or relevant to, any investigation or proceeding 
under this Act, may be seized by the Food Safety Officer and a sample of such adulterant submitted for 
analysis to a Food Analyst: 

Provided that no such books of account or other documents shall be seized by the Food Safety Officer 

except with the previous approval of the authority to which he is subordinate. 

26 

 
(7) Where the Food Safety Officer takes any action under clause (a) of sub-section (1), or sub-section 
(2), or sub-section (4) or sub-section (6), he shall, call one or more persons to be present at the time when 
such action is taken and take his or their signatures. 

(8) Where any books of account or other documents are seized under sub-section (6), the Food Safety 
Officer shall, within a period not exceeding thirty days from the date of seizure, return the same to the 
person from whom they were seized after copies thereof or extracts there from as certified by that person 
in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government have been taken: 

Provided  that  where  such person  refuses  to  so certify  and  a  prosecution  has  been  instituted  against 
him under this Act, such books of account or other documents shall be returned to him only after copies 
thereof and extracts there from as certified by the court have been taken. 

(9) When any adulterant is seized under sub-section (6), the burden of proving that such adulterant is 
not meant for purposes of adulteration shall be on the person from whose possession such adulterant was 
seized. 

(10)  The  Commissioner  of  Food  Safety  may  from  time  to  time  issue  guidelines  with  regard  to 

exercise of powers of the Food Safety Officer, which shall be binding: 

Provided that the powers of such Food Safety Officer may also be revoked for a specified period by 

the Commissioner of Food Safety. 

39. Liability of Food Safety Officer in certain cases.–Any Food Safety Officer exercising powers 

under this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder who– 

(a) vexatiously and without any reasonable ground seizes any article of food or adulterant; or 

(b) commits any other act to the injury of any person without having reason to believe that such 

act is necessary for the execution of his duty, 

shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to one lakh 
rupees: 

Provided that in case any false complaint is made against a Food Safety Officer and it is proved  so, 
the complainant shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be punishable with fine which shall 
not be less than fifty thousand rupees but may extend to one lakh rupees. 

40. Purchaser may have food analysed.–(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall be held to prevent a 
purchaser of any article of food other than a Food Safety Officer from having such article analysed by the 
Food Analyst on payment of such fees and receiving from the Food Analyst a report of his analysis within 
such period as may be specified by regulations: 

Provided that such purchaser shall inform the food business operator at the time of purchase of his 

intention to have such article so analysed: 

Provided  further  that  if  the  report  of  the  Food  Analyst  shows  that  the  article  of  food  is  not  in 
compliance with the Act or the rules or regulations made thereunder, the purchaser shall be entitled to get 
refund of the fees paid by him under this section. 

(2) In case the Food Analyst finds the sample in contravention of the provisions of this Act and rules 
and regulations made thereunder, the Food Analysts shall forward the report to the Designated Officer to 
follow the procedure laid down in section 42 for prosecution. 

41.  Power  of  search,  seizure, 

investigation,  prosecution  and  procedure  thereof.–(1) 
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) of section 31, the Food Safety Officer may search 
any place, seize any article of food or adulterant, if there is a reasonable doubt about them being involved 
in commission of any offence relating to food, and shall thereafter inform the Designated Officer of the 
actions taken by him in writing: 

Provided that no search shall be deemed to be irregular by reason only of the fact that witnesses for 

the search are not inhabitants of the locality in which the place searched is situated. 

27 

 
(2) Save as in this Act otherwise expressly provided, provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 
1973 (2 of 1974) relating to search, seizure, summon, investigation and prosecution, shall apply, as far as 
may be, to all action taken by the Food Safety Officer under this Act. 

42.  Procedure  for  launching  prosecution.–(1)  The  Food  Safety  Officer  shall  be  responsible  for 

inspection of food business, drawing samples and sending them to Food Analyst for analysis. 

(2)  The  Food  Analyst  after  receiving  the  sample  from  the  Food  Safety  Officer  shall  analyse  the 
sample and send the analysis report mentioning method of sampling and analysis within fourteen days to 
Designated Officer with a copy to Commissioner of Food Safety. 

(3) The Designated Officer after scrutiny of the report of Food Analyst shall decide as to whether the 
contravention is punishable with imprisonment or fine only and in the case of contravention punishable 
with imprisonment, he shall send his recommendations within fourteen days to the Commissioner of Food 
Safety for sanctioning prosecution. 

(4) The Commissioner of Food Safety shall, if he so deems fit decide, within the period prescribed by 

the Central Government, as per the gravity of offence, whether the matter be referred to,– 

(a) a court of ordinary jurisdiction in case of offences punishable with imprisonment for a term up 

to three years; or 

(b) a Special Court in case of offences punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding three 
years where such Special Court is established and in case no Special Court is established, such cases 
shall be tried by a Court of ordinary jurisdiction. 

(5) The Commissioner of Food Safety shall communicate his decision to the Designated Officer and 
the concerned Food Safety Officer who shall launch prosecution before courts of ordinary jurisdiction or 
Special  Court,  as  the  case  may  be;  and  such  communication  shall  also  be  sent  to  the  purchaser  if  the 
sample was taken under section 40. 

CHAPTER VIII 

ANALYSIS OF FOOD 

43.  Recognition  and  accreditation  of  laboratories,  research  institutions  and  referral  food 
laboratory.–(1) The Food Authority may notify food laboratories and research institutions accredited by 
National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories or any other accreditation agency 
for the purposes of carrying out analysis of samples by the Food Analysts under this Act. 

(2)  The  Food  Authority  shall,  establish  or  recognise  by  notification,  one  or  more  referral  food 
laboratory or laboratories to carry out the functions entrusted to the referral food laboratory by this Act or 
any rules and regulations made thereunder. 

(3) The Food Authority may frame regulations specifying– 

(a) the functions of food laboratory and referral food laboratory and the local area or areas within 

which such functions may be carried out; 

(b) the procedure for submission to the said laboratory of samples of articles of food for analysis 
or tests, the forms of the laboratory’s reports thereon and the fees payable in respect of such reports; 
and 

(c) such other matters as may be necessary or expedient to enable the said laboratory to carry out 

its functions effectively. 

44.  Recognition  of  organisation  or  agency  for  food  safety  audit.–The  Food  Authority  may 
recognise any organisation or agency for the purposes of food safety audit and checking compliance with 
food safety management systems required under this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder. 

45. Food Analysts.–The Commissioner of Food Safety may, by notification, appoint such persons as 
he  thinks  fit,  having  the  qualifications  prescribed  by  the  Central  Government,  to  be  Food  Analysts  for 
such local areas as may be assigned to them by the Commissioner of Food Safety: 

28 

 
 
 
Provided that no person, who has any financial interest in the manufacture or sale of any article of 

food shall be appointed to be a Food Analyst under this section: 

Provided further that different Food Analysts may be appointed for different articles of food. 

46. Functions of Food Analyst.–(1) On receipt of a package containing a sample for analysis from a 
Food Safety Officer or any other person, the Food Analyst shall compare the seal on the container and the 
outer  cover  with  specimen  impression  received  separately  and  shall  note  the  conditions  of  the  seal 
thereon: 

Provided  that  in  case  a  sample  container  received  by  the  Food  Analyst  is  found  to  be  in  broken 
condition  or  unfit  for  analysis,  he  shall  within  a  period  of  seven  days  from  the  date  of  receipt  of  such 
sample inform the Designated Officer about the same and send requisition to him for sending second part 
of the sample. 

(2) The Food Analyst shall cause to be analysed such samples of article of food as may be sent to him 

by Food Safety Officer or by any other person authorised under this Act. 

(3) The Food Analyst shall, within a period of fourteen days from the date of receipt of any sample 

for analysis, send— 

(i) where such sample is received under section 38 or section 47, to the Designated Officer, four 

copies of the report indicating the method of sampling and analysis; and 

(ii) where such sample is received under section 40, a copy of the report indicating the method of 
sampling  and  analysis  to  the  person  who  had  purchased  such  article  of  food  with  a  copy  to  the 
Designated Officer: 

Provided  that  in  case  the  sample  cannot  be  analysed  within  fourteen  days  of  its  receipt,  the  Food 
Analyst  shall  inform  the  Designated  Officer  and  the  Commissioner  of  Food  Safety  giving  reasons  and 
specifying the time to be taken for analysis. 

(4) An appeal against the report of Food Analyst shall lie before the Designated Officer who shall, if 
he  so  decides,  refer  the  matter  to  the  referral  food  laboratory  as  notified  by  the  Food  Authority  for 
opinion. 

47. Sampling and analysis.–(1) When a Food Safety Officer takes a sample of food for analysis, he 

shall– 

(a) give notice in writing of his intention to have it so analysed to the person from whom he has 
taken  the  sample  and  to  the  person,  if  any,  whose  name,  address  and  other  particulars  have  been 
disclosed; 

(b) except in special cases as may be provided by rules made under this Act, divide the sample 
into four parts and mark and seal or fasten up each part in such a manner as its nature permits and 
take the signature or thumb impression of the person from whom the sample has been taken in such 
place and in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government: 

Provided  that  where  such  person  refuses  to  sign  or  put  his  thumb  impression,  the  Food  Safety 
Officer shall call upon one or more witnesses and take his signature or thumb impression, in lieu of 
the signature or thumb impression of such person; 

(c) (i) send one of the parts for analysis to the Food Analyst under intimation to the Designated 

Officer; 

(ii) send two parts to the Designated Officer for keeping these in safe custody; and 

(iii) send the remaining part for analysis to an accredited laboratory, if so requested by the food 

business operator, under intimation to the Designated Officer: 

Provided that if the  test reports received under sub-clauses (i) and (iii) are found to be at variance, 
then the Designated Officer shall send one part of the sample kept in his custody, to referral laboratory for 
analysis, whose decision thereon shall be final. 

29 

 
(2) When a sample of any article of food or adulterant is taken, the Food Safety Officer shall, by the 
immediate  succeeding  working  day,  send  the  sample  to  the  Food  Analyst  for  the  area  concerned  for 
analysis and report. 

(3) Where the part of the sample sent to the Food Analyst is lost or damaged, the Designated Officer 
shall, on a requisition made to him, by the Food Analyst or the Food Safety Officer, despatch one of the 
parts of the sample sent to him, to the Food Analyst for analysis. 

(4) An article of food or adulterant seized, unless destroyed, shall be produced before the Designated 
Officer as soon as possible and in any case not later than seven days after the receipt of the report of the 
Food Analyst: 

Provided that if an application is made to the Designated Officer in this behalf by the person from 
whom any article of food has been seized, the Designated Officer shall by order in writing direct the Food 
Safety Officer to produce such article before him within such time as may be specified in the order. 

(5)  In  case  of  imported  articles  of  food,  the  authorised  officer  of  the  Food  Authority  shall  take  its 
sample and send to the Food Analyst of notified laboratory for analysis who shall send the report within a 
period of five days to the authorised officer. 

(6)  The  Designated  Officer,  the  Food  Safety  Officer,  the  authorised  officer  and  the  Food  Analyst 

shall follow such procedure as may be specified by regulations. 

CHAPTER IX 

OFFENCES AND PENALTIES 

48. General provisions relating to offences.–(1) A person may render any article of food injurious 

to health by means of one or more of the following operations, namely:– 

(a) adding any article or substance to the food; 

(b) using any article or substance as an ingredient in the preparation of the food; 

(c) abstracting any constituents from the food; or 

(d) subjecting the food to any other process or treatment, 

with the knowledge that it may be sold or offered for sale or distributed for human consumption. 

(2) In determining whether any food is unsafe or injurious to health, regard shall be had to– 

(a) (i) the normal conditions of use of the food by the consumer and its handling at each stage of 

production, processing and distribution; 

(ii)  the  information  provided  to  the  consumer,  including  information  on  the  label,  or  other 
information generally available to the consumer concerning the avoidance of specific adverse health 
effects from a particular food or category of foods not only to the probable, immediate or short-term 
or  long-term  effects  of  that  food  on  the  health  of  a  person  consuming  it,  but  also  on  subsequent 
generations; 

(iii) to the probable cumulative toxic effects; 

(iv)  to  the  particular  health  sensitivities  of  a  specific  category  of  consumers  where  the  food  is 

intended for that category of consumers; and 

(v)  also to the  probable  cumulative  effect  of food  of substantially  the  same  composition  on the 

health of a person consuming it in ordinary quantities; 

(b)  the  fact  where  the  quality  or  purity  of  the  article,  being  primary  food,  has  fallen  below  the 
specified  standard  or  its  constituents  are  present  in  quantities  not  within  the  specified  limits  of 
variability, in either case, solely due to natural causes and beyond the control of human agency, then 
such article shall not be deemed to be unsafe or sub-standard or food containing extraneous matter. 

Explanation.–For  the  purposes  of  this  section,  ―injury‖,  includes  any  impairment,  whether 

permanent or temporary, and ―Injurious to health‖ shall be construed accordingly. 

30 

 
49.  General  provisions  relating  to  penalty.–While  adjudging  the  quantum  of  penalty  under  this 
Chapter,  the  Adjudicating  Officer  or  the  Tribunal,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  have  due  regard  to  the 
following:– 

(a)  the  amount  of  gain  or  unfair  advantage,  wherever  quantifiable,  made  as  a  result  of  the 

contravention, 

(b) the Amount of loss caused or likely to cause to any person as a result of the contravention, 

(c) the repetitive nature of the contravention, 

(d) whether the contravention is without his knowledge, and 

(e) any other relevant factor. 

50. Penalty for selling food not of the nature or substance or quality demanded.–Any person who 
sells to the purchaser’s prejudice any food which is not in compliance with the provisions of this Act or 
the regulations made thereunder, or of the nature or substance or quality demanded by the purchaser, shall 
be liable to a penalty not exceeding five lakh rupees: 

Provided that the persons covered under sub-section (2) of section 31, shall for such non-compliance 

be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty-five thousand rupees. 

51. Penalty for sub-standard food.–Any person who whether by himself or by any other person on 
his behalf manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes or imports any article of food for human 
consumption which is sub-standard, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to five lakh rupees. 

52. Penalty for misbranded food.–(1) Any person who whether by himself or by any other person 
on  his  behalf  manufactures  for  sale  or  stores  or  sells  or  distributes  or  imports  any  article  of  food  for 
human  consumption  which  is  misbranded,  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  which  may  extend  to  three  lakh 
rupees. 

(2) The Adjudicating Officer may issue a direction to the person found guilty of an offence under this 

section, for taking corrective action to rectify the mistake or such article of food shall be destroyed. 

53.  Penalty  for  misleading  advertisement.–Any  person  who  publishes,  or  is  a  party  to  the 

publication of an advertisement, which– 

(a) falsely describes any food; or 

(b)  is  likely  to  mislead  as  to  the  nature  or  substance  or  quality  of  any  food  or  gives  false 

guarantee, 

shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to ten lakh rupees. 

(2) In any proceeding the fact that a label or advertisement relating to any article of food in respect of 
which  the  contravention  is  alleged  to  have  been  committed  contained  an  accurate  statement  of  the 
composition of the food shall not preclude the court from finding that the contravention was committed. 

54. Penalty for food containing extraneous matter.–Any person whether by himself or by any other 
person on his behalf manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes or imports any article of food 
for  human  consumption containing  extraneous  matter,  shall  be  liable  to  a penalty  which  may  extend  to 
one lakh rupees. 

55. Penalty for failure to comply  with the directions of Food Safety Officer.–If a food business 
operator or importer without reasonable ground, fails to comply with the requirements of this Act or the 
rules or regulations or orders issued thereunder, as directed by the Food Safety Officer, he shall be liable 
to a penalty which may extend to two lakh rupees. 

56. Penalty for unhygienic or unsanitary processing or manufacturing of food.–Any person who, 
whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf, manufactures or processes any article of food for 
human  consumption  under  unhygienic  or  unsanitary  conditions,  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  which  may 
extend to one lakh rupees. 

31 

 
 
 
57. Penalty for possessing  adulterant.–(1)  Subject to  the  provisions  of this  chapter, if any  person 
who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf, imports or manufactures for sale, or stores, 
sells or distribute any adulterant shall be liable– 

(i) where such adulterant is not injurious to health, to a penalty not exceeding two lakh rupees; 

(ii) where such adulterant is injurious to health, to a penalty not exceeding ten lakh rupees. 

(2) In a proceeding under sub-section (1), it shall not be a defence that the accused was holding such 

adulterant on behalf of any other person. 

58. Penalty for  contraventions for which  no specific  penalty is provided.–Whoever  contravenes 
any provisions of this Act or the rules or regulations made thereunder, for the contravention of which no 
penalty has been separately provided in this Chapter, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to two 
lakh rupees. 

59. Punishment for unsafe food.–Any person who, whether by himself or by any other person on his 
behalf,  manufactures  for  sale  or  stores  or  sells  or  distributes  or  imports  any  article  of  food  for  human 
consumption which is unsafe, shall be punishable,– 

(i)  where  such  failure  or  contravention  does  not  result  in  injury,  with  imprisonment  for  a  term 

which may extend to six months and also with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees; 

(ii) where such failure or contravention results in a non-grievous injury, with imprisonment for a 

term which may extend to one year and also with fine which may extend to three lakh rupees; 

(iii) where such failure or contravention results in a grievous injury, with imprisonment for a term 

which may extend to six years and also with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees; 

(iv) where such failure or contravention results in death, with imprisonment for a term which shall 
not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and also with fine which 
shall not be less than ten lakh rupees. 

60. Punishment for interfering with seized items.–If a person without the permission of the Food 
Safety  Officer,  retains,  removes  or  tampers  with  any  food,  vehicle,  equipment,  package  or  labelling  or 
advertising  material  or  other  thing  that  has  been  seized  under  this  Act,  he  shall  be  punishable  with 
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and also with fine which may extend to two 
lakh rupees. 

61.  Punishment  for  false  information.–If  a  person,  in  connection  with  a  requirement  or  direction 
under  this  Act,  provides  any  information  or  produces  any  document  that  the  person  knows  is  false  or 
misleading, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months and 
also with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees. 

62.  Punishment  for  obstructing  or  impersonating  a  Food  Safety  Officer.–If  a  person  without 
reasonable excuse, resists, obstructs, or attempts to obstruct, impersonate, threaten, intimidate or assault a 
Food Safety Officer in exercising his functions under this Act, he shall be punishable with imprisonment 
for a term which may extend to three months and also with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees. 

63.  Punishment  for  carrying  out  a  business  without  licence.–If  any  person  or  food  business 
operator  (except  the  persons  exempted  from  licensing  under  sub-section  (2)  of  section  31  of  this  Act), 
himself or by any person on his behalf who is required to obtain licence, manufacturers, sells, stores or 
distributes  or  imports  any  article  of  food  without  licence,  shall  be  punishable  with  imprisonment  for  a 
term which may extend to six months and also with a fine which may extend to five lakh rupees. 

64. Punishment for subsequent offences.–If any person, after having been previously convicted of 
an offence punishable under this Act subsequently commits and is convicted of the same offence, he shall 
be liable to— 

(i)  twice  the  punishment,  which  might  have  been  imposed  on  a  first  conviction,  subject  to  the 

punishment being maximum provided for the same offence; 

(ii) a further fine on daily basis which may extend up to one lakh rupees, where the offence is a 

continuing one; and 

32 

 
(iii) his licence shall be cancelled. 

(2) The Court may also cause the offender’s name and place of residence, the offence and the penalty 
imposed  to  be  published  at  the  offender’s  expense  in  such  newspapers  or  in  such  other  manner  as  the 
court may direct and the expenses of such publication shall be deemed to be part of the cost attending the 
conviction and shall be recoverable in the same manner as a fine. 

65.  Compensation  in  case  injury  of  death  of  consumer.–(1)  Without  prejudice  to  the  other 
provisions  of  this  Chapter,  if  any  person  whether  by  himself  or  by  any  other  person  on  his  behalf, 
manufactures or distributes or sells or imports any article of food causing injury to the consumer or his 
death, it shall be lawful for the Adjudicating Officer or as the case may be, the court to direct him to pay 
compensation to the victim or the legal representative of the victim, a sum— 

(a) not less than five lakh rupees in case of death; 

(b) not exceeding three lakh rupees in case of grievous injury; and 

(c) not exceeding one lakh rupees, in all other cases of injury: 

Provided that the compensation shall be paid at the earliest and in no case later than six months from 

the date of occurrence of the incident: 

Provided further that in case of death, an interim relief shall be paid to the next of the kin within thirty 

days of the incident. 

(2)  Where  any  person  is  held  guilty  of  an  offence  leading  to  grievous  injury  or  death,  the 
Adjudicating Officer or the court may cause the name and place of residence of the person held guilty, the 
offence and the penalty imposed to be published at the offender’s expense in such newspapers or in such 
other  manner  as  the  Adjudicating  Officer  or  the  court  may  direct  and  the  expenses  of  such  publication 
shall  be  deemed  to  be  part  of  the  cost  attending  the  conviction  and  shall  be  recoverable  in  the  same 
manner as a fine. 

(3)  The Adjudicating Officer or the court may also,— 

(a) order for cancellation of licence, re-call of food from market, forfeiture of establishment and 

property in case of grievous injury or death of consumer; 

(b) issue prohibition orders in other cases. 

66. Offences  by  companies.–(1) Where  an  offence under  this  Act  which  has been committed  by  a 
company, every person who at the time the offence was committed was in charge of, and was responsible 
to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed 
to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: 

Provided  that  where  a  company  has  different  establishments  or  branches  or  different  units  in  any 
establishment or branch, the concerned Head or the person in-charge of such establishment, branch, unit 
nominated by the company as responsible for food safety shall be liable for contravention in respect of 
such establishment, branch or unit: 

Provided further that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any 
punishment provided in this Act, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or 
that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. 

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been 
committed  by  a  company  and  it  is  proved  that  the  offence  has  been  committed  with  the  consent  or 
connivance  of  or is  attributable  to  any  neglect  on  the  part  of,  any  director,  manager,  secretary  or  other 
officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty 
of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. 

Explanation.—For the purpose of this section,— 

(a)  ―company‖ means anybody corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; 

and 

(b)  ―director‖, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm. 

33 

 
67. Penalty for contravention of provisions of this Act in case of import of articles of food to be 
in addition to penalties provided under any other Act.–Any person who imports any article of food 
which is in contravention of the provisions of this Act, rules and regulations made thereunder, shall, in 
addition  to  any  penalty  to  which  he  may  be  liable  under  the  provisions  of  the  Foreign  Trade 
(Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992) and the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) be also 
liable under this Act and shall be proceeded against accordingly. 

(2)  Any  such  article  of  food  shall  be  destroyed  or  returned  to  the  importer,  if  permitted  by  the 
competent authority under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992) or 
the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), or any other Act, as the case may be. 

CHAPTER X 

ADJUDICATION AND FOOD SAFETY APPELLATE TRIBUNAL 

68. Adjudication.–For the purposes of adjudication under this Chapter, an officer not below the rank 
of Additional District Magistrate of the district where the alleged offence is committed, shall be notified 
by the State Government as the Adjudicating Officer for adjudication in the manner as may be prescribed 
by the Central Government. 

(2)  The  Adjudicating  Officer  shall,  after  giving  the  person  a  reasonable  opportunity  for  making 
representation  in  the  matter,  and  if,  on  such  inquiry,  he  is  satisfied  that  the  person  has  committed  the 
contravention  of  provisions  of  this  Act  or  the  rules  or  the  regulations  made  thereunder,  impose  such 
penalty as he thinks fit in accordance with the provisions relating to that offence. 

(3) The Adjudicating Officer shall have the powers of a civil court and— 

(a) all proceedings before him shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of 

sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860); 

(b)  shall  be  deemed  to  be  a  court  for  the  purposes  of  sections  345  and  346  of  the  Code  of 

Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974). 

(4) While adjudicating the quantum of penalty under this Chapter, the Adjudicating Officer shall have 

due regard to the guidelines specified in section 49. 

69. Power to compound offences.–The Commissioner of Food Safety may, by order, empower the 
Designated Officer, to accept from petty manufacturers who himself manufacture and sell any article of 
food, retailers, hawkers, itinerant vendors, temporary stall holders against whom a reasonable belief exists 
that he has committed an offence or contravention against this Act, payment of a sum of money by way of 
composition of the offence which such person is suspected to have committed. 

(2) On the payment of such sum of money to such officer, the suspected person, if in custody, shall be 

discharged and no further proceedings in respect of the offence shall be taken against such person. 

(3) The sum of money accepted or agreed to be accepted as composition under sub section (1), shall 

not be more than one lakh rupees and due regard shall be made to the guidelines specified in section 49: 

Provided that no offence, for which punishment of imprisonment has been prescribed under this Act, 

shall be compounded. 

70. Establishment of Food Safety Appellate Tribunal.–The Central Government or as the case may 
be, the State Government may, by notification, establish one or more tribunals to be known as the Food 
Safety Appellate Tribunal to hear appeals from the decisions of the Adjudicating Officer under section 68. 

(2) The Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, shall prescribe, the matters 

and areas in relation to which the Tribunal may exercise jurisdiction. 

(3) The Tribunal shall consist of one person only (hereinafter referred to as the Presiding Officer of 
the Tribunal) to be appointed, by notification, by the Central Government or the State Government, as the 
case may be: 

Provided  that  no  person  shall  be  qualified  for  appointment  as  a  Presiding  Officer  to  the  Tribunal 

unless he is or has been a District Judge. 

34 

 
(4) The qualifications, appointment, term of office, salary and allowances, resignation and removal of 

the Presiding Officer shall be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government. 

(5) The  procedure  of  appeal and powers  of the Tribunal shall  be  such as  may  be  prescribed by  the 

Central Government. 

71. Procedure and powers of Tribunal.–(1) The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid 
down by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) but shall be guided by the principles of natural 
justice and, subject to the other provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder, the Tribunal shall 
have powers to regulate its own procedure including the place at which it shall have its sittings. 

(2)  The  Tribunal  shall  have,  for  the  purposes  of  discharging  its  functions  under  this  Act,  the  same 
powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a 
suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:– 

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath; 

(b) requiring the discovery and production of documents or other electronic records; 

(c) receiving evidence on affidavits; 

(d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents; 

(e) reviewing its decisions; 

(f) dismissing an application for default or deciding it ex parte; 

(g) any other matter which may be prescribed by the Central Government. 

(3)  Every  proceeding  before  the  Tribunal  shall  be  deemed  to  be  a  judicial  proceeding  within  the 
meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purposes of section 196 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 
1860), it shall be deemed to be a civil court for all the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the 
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974). 

(4) The appellant may either appear in person or authorise one or more legal practitioners or any of its 

officers to represent his case before the Tribunal. 

(5) The provisions of the Limitation Act, 1963 (36 of 1963), shall, except as otherwise provided in 

this Act, apply to an appeal made to the Tribunal. 

(6)  Any  person  aggrieved  by  any  decision  or  order  of  the  Tribunal  may  file  an  appeal  to  the  High 
Court within sixty days from the date of communication of the decision or order of the Tribunal to him on 
any question of fact or law arising out of such order: 

Provided that the High Court may, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause 
from  filing  the  appeal  within  the  said  period,  allow  it  to  be  filed  within  a  further  period  not  exceeding 
sixty days. 

72. Civil court not to have jurisdiction.–No civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or 
proceeding in respect of any  matter which an Adjudicating Officer or the Tribunal is empowered by or 
under this Act to determine and no injunction shall be granted by any court or other authority in respect of 
any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Act. 

73.  Power  of  court  to  try  cases  summarily.–Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in  the  Code  of 
Criminal  Procedure,  1973  (2  of  1974),  all  offences  not  triable  by  a  Special  Court,  shall  be  tried  in  a 
summary  way  by  a  Judicial  Magistrate  of  the  first  class  or  by  a  Metropolitan  Magistrate  and  the 
provisions of sections 262 to 265 (both inclusive) of the said Code shall, as far as may be, apply to such a 
trial: 

Provided that in the case of any conviction in a summary trial under this section, it shall be lawful for 

the Magistrate to pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year: 

35 

 
Provided further that when at the commencement of, or in the course of, a summary trial under this 
section, it appears to the Magistrate that the nature of the case is such that a sentence of imprisonment for 
a term exceeding one year may have to be passed or that it is, for any other reason, undesirable to try the 
case summarily, the Magistrate shall after hearing the parties, record an order to that effect and thereafter 
recall  any  witness  who  may  have  been  examined  and  proceed  to  hear  or rehear the case  in  the  manner 
provided by the said Code. 

74. Special courts and Public Prosecutor.–(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in 
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), the Central Government or the State Government in 
their  respective  jurisdictions  may,  if  consider  expedient  and  necessary  in  the  public  interest,  for  the 
purposes  of  the  trial  of  offences  relating  to  grievous  injury  or  death  of  the  consumer  for  which 
punishment of imprisonment for more than three years has been prescribed under this Act, constitute, by 
notification in the Official Gazette, as many Special Courts with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of 
the High Court as may be necessary for such area or areas and for exercising such jurisdiction, as may be 
specified in the notification. 

(2) A Special Court may, on its own motion, or on an application made by the Public Prosecutor and 
if it considers it expedient or desirable so to do, sit for any of its proceedings at any place other than its 
ordinary place of sitting. 

(3) The trial under this Act of any offence by a Special Court shall have precedence over the trial of 
any other case against the accused in any other court (not being a Special Court) and shall be concluded in 
preference  to  the  trial  of  such  other  case  and  accordingly  the  trial  of  such  other  case  shall  remain  in 
abeyance. 

(4) For every Special Court, the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, 
shall  appoint  a  person  to  be  the  Public  Prosecutor  and  may  appoint  more  than  one  person  to  be  the 
Additional Public Prosecutors: 

Provided that the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, may also appoint 

for any case or class or group of cases, a Special Public Prosecutor. 

(5)  A  person  shall  not  be  qualified  to  be  appointed  as  a  Public  Prosecutor  or  an  Additional  Public 
Prosecutor or a Special Public Prosecutor under this section unless he has been in practice as an Advocate 
for  not  less  than  seven  years  or  has  held  any  post,  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  seven  years,  under  the 
Union or a State, requiring special knowledge of law. 

75.  Power  to  transfer  cases  to  regular  courts.–Where,  after  taking  cognizance  of  any  offence,  a 
Special Court is of the opinion that the offence is not triable by it, it shall, notwithstanding that it has no 
jurisdiction  to  try  such  offence,  transfer  the  case  for  the  trial  of  such  offence  to  any  court  having 
jurisdiction under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) and the court to which the case is 
transferred may proceed with the trial of the offence as if it had taken cognizance of the offence. 

76. Appeal.–(1) Any person aggrieved by a decision or order of a Special Court may, on payment of 
such  fee  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  Central  Government  and  after  depositing  the  amount,  if  any, 
imposed by way of penalty, compensation or damage under this Act, within forty-five days from the date 
on which the order was served, prefer an appeal to the High Court: 

Provided that the High Court may entertain any appeal after the expiry of the said period of forty-five 
days, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause for filing the appeal within the 
said period. 

(2) An appeal preferred under this section shall be disposed of by the High Court by a bench of not 

less than two judges. 

77. Time limit for prosecutions.–Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, no court shall take 
cognizance  of  an  offence  under  this  Act  after  the  expiry  of  the  period  of  one  year  from  the  date  of 
commission of an offence: 

Provided that the Commissioner of Food Safety may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, approve 

prosecution within an extended period of up to three years. 

36 

 
78. Power of court to implead manufacturer, etc.–Where at any time during the trial of any offence 
under  this  Act  alleged  to  have  been  committed  by  any  person,  not  being  the  importer,  manufacturer, 
distributor or dealer of any article of food, the court, is satisfied, on the evidence adduced before it, that 
such importer, manufacturer, distributor or dealer is also concerned with that offence, then the court may, 
notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3) of section 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 
1973  (2  of  1974),  or  in  section  71  of  this  Act,  proceed  against  him  as  though  a  prosecution  has  been 
instituted under this Act. 

79. Magistrate’s power to impose enhanced punishment.–Notwithstanding anything contained in 
section 29 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), it shall be lawful for the court of ordinary 
jurisdiction  to  pass  any  sentence  authorised  by  this  Act,  except  a  sentence  of  imprisonment  for  a  term 
exceeding six years in excess of his powers under the said section. 

80.  Defences  which  may  or  may  not  be  allowed  in  prosecution  under  this  Act.–(A)  Defence 

relating to publication of advertisements– 

(1)  In  any  proceeding  for  an  offence  under  this  Act  in  relation  to  the  publication  of  an 
advertisement,  it  is  a  defence  for  a  person  to  prove  that  the  person  carried  on  the  business  of 
publishing  or  arranging  for  the  publication  of  advertisements  and  that  the  person  published  or 
arranged  for  the  publication  of  the  advertisement  in  question  in  the  ordinary  course  of  that 
business. 

(2) Clause (1) does not apply if the person— 

(a)  should  reasonably  have  known  that  the  publication  of  the  advertisement  was  an 

offence; or 

(b) had previously been informed in writing by the relevant authority that publication of 

such an advertisement would constitute an offence; or 

(c) is the food business operator or is otherwise engaged in the conduct of a food business 

for which the advertisements concerned were published. 

(B) Defence of due diligence— 

(1) In any proceedings for an offence, it is a defence if it is proved that the person took all 
reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence 
by such person or by another person under the person’s control. 

(2) Without limiting the ways in which a person may satisfy the requirements of clause (1), a 

person satisfies those requirements if it is proved— 

(a) that the commission of the offence was due to— 

(i) an act or default of another person; or 

(ii) reliance on information supplied by another person; and 

(b) (i) the person carried out all such checks of the food concerned as were reasonable in 

all the circumstances; or 

(ii) it was reasonable in all the circumstances to rely on checks carried out by the person 

who supplied such food to the person; and 

(c) that the person did not import the food into the jurisdiction from another country; and 

(d) in the case of an offence involving the sale of food, that— 

(i) the person sold the food in the same condition as and when the person purchased 

it; or 

(ii)  the  person  sold  the  food  in  a  different  condition  to  that  in  which  the  person 
purchased it, but that the difference did not result in any contravention of this Act or the 
rules and regulations made thereunder; and 

37 

 
(e) that the person did not know and had no reason to suspect at the time of commission 
of the alleged offence that the person’s act or omission would constitute an offence under the 
relevant section. 

(3) In sub-clause (a) of clause (2), another person does not include a person who was— 

(a) an employee or agent of the defendant; or 

(b) in the case of a defendant which is a company, a director, employee or agent of that 

company. 

(4) Without limiting the ways in which a person may satisfy the requirements of clause (1) 
and item (i) of sub-clause (b) of clause (2), a person may satisfy those requirements by proving 
that— 

(a)  in  the  case  of  an  offence  relating  to  a  food  business  for  which  a  food  safety 
programme is required to be prepared in accordance with the regulations, the person complied 
with a food safety  programme for the food business  that complies with the requirements of 
the regulations, or 

(b)  in  any  other  case,  the  person  complied  with  a  scheme  (for  example,  a  quality 

assurance programme or an industry code of practice) that was— 

(i)  designed  to  manage  food  safety  hazards  and  based  on  national  or  international 

standards, codes or guidelines designed for that purpose, and 

(ii) documented in some manner. 

(C) Defence of mistaken and reasonable belief not available— 

In any proceedings for an offence under the provisions of this Act, it is no defence that the 

defendant had a mistaken but reasonable belief as to the facts that constituted the offence. 

(D) Defence in respect of handling food— 

In proceedings for an offence under section 56, it is a defence if it is proved that the person 
caused the food to which the offence relates to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of immediately 
after the food was handled in the manner that was likely to render it unsafe. 

(E) Defences of significance of the nature, substance or quality of food— 

It shall be no defence in a prosecution for an offence pertaining to the sale of any unsafe or 
misbranded article of food to allege  merely that the food business operator was ignorant of the 
nature, substance or quality of the food sold by him or that the purchaser having purchased any 
article for analysis was not prejudiced by the sale. 

CHAPTER XI 

FINANCE, ACCOUNTS, AUDIT AND REPORTS 

81. Budget of Food Authority.–(1) The Food Authority shall prepare, in such form and at such time 
in each financial year as may be prescribed by the Central Government, its budget for the next financial 
year, showing the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Food Authority and forward the same to the 
Central Government. 

(2)  The  Food  Authority  with  the  prior  approval  of  the  Central  Government,  shall  adopt  financial 
regulation which specifies in particular, the procedure for drawing up and implementing the Authority’s 
budget. 

82.  Finances  of  the  Food  Authority.–(1)  The  Central  Government  may,  after  due  appropriation, 

make to the Food Authority grants of such sums of money as the Central Government may think fit. 

(2) The Food Authority on the recommendation of the Central Advisory Committee shall specify a 
graded  fee  from  licensed  food  business  operators,  accredited  laboratories  or  food  safety  auditors  to  be 
charged by the commissioner of Food Safety. 

38 

 
83. Accounts and audit of Food Authority.–(1) The Food Authority shall maintain proper accounts 
and relevant records and prepare an annual statement of accounts in such form as may be prescribed by 
the Central Government in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India. 

(2) The  Comptroller and Auditor-General  and  any  person appointed  by  him  in  connection  with  the 
audit of the accounts of the Food Authority under this Act shall have the same rights and privileges and 
authority  in  connection  with  such  audit  as  the  Comptroller  and  Auditor-General  generally  has  in 
connection with the audit of Government accounts and, in particular, shall have the right to demand the 
production of books, accounts, connected vouchers and other documents and papers and to inspect any of 
the offices of the Food Authority. 

(3) The accounts of the Food Authority, as certified by the Comptroller and Auditor- General or any 
other  person  appointed  by  him  in  this  behalf, together  with the audit  report thereon  shall be  forwarded 
annually to the Central Government by the Food Authority and the Central Government shall cause the 
audit report to be laid, as soon as may be after it is received, before each House of Parliament. 

84.  Annual  report  of  Food  Authority.–(1)  The  Food  Authority  shall  prepare  once  every  year,  in 
such form and at such time as may be prescribed by the Central Government, an annual report giving a 
summary  of  its  activities  during  the  previous  year  and  copies  of  the  report  shall  be  forwarded  to  the 
Central Government and State Governments. 

(2)  A  copy  of  the  report  received  under  sub-section  (1)  shall  be  laid,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  it  is 

received, before each House of Parliament. 

CHAPTER XII 

MISCELLANEOUS 

85. Power of Central Government to issue directions to Food Authority and obtain reports and 
returns.–(1)  Without  prejudice  to  the  foregoing  provisions  of  this  Act,  the  Food  Authority  shall,  in 
exercise of its powers and in performance of its functions under this Act, be bound by such directions on 
questions  of  policy,  other  than  those  relating  to  technical  and  administrative  matters,  as  the  Central 
Government may give in writing to it from time to time: 

Provided that the Food Authority shall, as far as practicable, be given an opportunity to express its 

views before any direction is given under this sub-section. 

(2)  If  any  dispute  arises  between  the  Central  Government  and  the  Food  Authority  as  to  whether  a 

question is or is not a question of policy, the decision of the Central Government thereon shall be final. 

(3)  The  Food  Authority  shall  furnish  to  the  Central  Government  such  returns  or  other  information 

with respect to its activities as the Central Government may, from time to time, require. 

86.  Power  of  Central  Government  to  give  directions  to  State  Governments.–The  Central 
Government may give such directions, as it may deem necessary, to a State Government for carrying out 
all or any of the provisions of this Act and the State Government shall comply with such directions. 

87.  Members,  officers  of  Food  Authority  and  Commissioner  of  Food  Safety  to  be  public 
servants.–The Members, officers of the Food Authority and the Commissioners of Food Safety and their 
officers shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of this 
Act, to be public servants within the meaning section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). 

88. Protection of action taken in good faith.–No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall 
lie  against  the  Central  Government,  the  State  Government,  the  Food  Authority  and  other  bodies 
constituted  under  this  Act  or  any  officer  of  the  Central  Government,  the  State  Government  or  any 
member, officer or other employee of such Authority and bodies or any other officer acting under this Act 
for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules or regulations 
made thereunder. 

89. Overriding effect of this Act over all other food related laws.–The provisions of this Act shall 
have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being 
in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act. 

39 

 
90.  Transfer  of  existing  employees  of  Central  Government  Agencies  governing  various  foods 
related  Acts  or  Orders  to  Food  Authority.–On  and  from  the  date  of  establishment  of  the  Food 
Authority,  every  employee  holding  office  under  the  Central  Government  Agencies  administering  food 
laws immediately before that date shall hold his office in the Food Authority by the same tenure and upon 
the same terms and conditions of service including remuneration, leave, provident fund, retirement and 
other terminal benefits as he would have held such office if the Food Authority had not been established 
and shall continue to do so as an employee of the Food Authority or until the expiry of the period of six 
months from that date if such employee opts not to be the employee of the Food Authority. 

91.  Power  of  Central  Government  to  make  rules.–(1)  The  Central  Government  may,  by 

notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act. 

(2)  In  particular,  and  without  prejudice  to  the  generality  of  the  foregoing  power,  such  rules  may 

provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:– 

(a)  salary,  terms  and  conditions  of  service  of  Chairperson  and  Members  other  than  ex  officio 
Members under sub-section (2) and the manner of subscribing to an oath of office and secrecy under 
sub-section (3) of section 7; 

(b) qualifications of Food Safety Officer under sub-section (1) of section 37; 

(c) the manner of taking the extract of documents seized under sub-clause (8) of section 38; 

(d)  determination  of  cases  for  referring  to  appropriate  courts  and  time-frame  for  such 

determination under sub-section (4) of section 42; 

(e) qualifications of Food Analysts under section 45; 

(f) the manner of sending sample for analysis and details of the procedure to be followed in this 

regard under sub-section (1) of section 47; 

(g) the procedure to be followed in adjudication of cases under sub-section (1) of section 68; 

(h) qualifications, terms of office, resignation and removal of Presiding Officer under sub-section 

(4), the procedure of appeal and powers of Tribunal under sub-section (5) of section 70; 

(i) any other matter relating to procedure and powers of Tribunal under clause of sub-section (2) 

of section 71; 

(j)  the  fee  to  be  paid  for  preferring  an  appeal  to  the  High  Court  under  sub-section  (1)  of  

section 76; 

(k) form and time of preparing budget under sub-section (1) of section 81; 

(l) form and statement of accounts under sub-section (1) of section 83; 

(m)  the  form  and  time  for  preparing  annual  report  by  Food  Authority  under  sub-section  (1)  of 

section 84; and 

(n)  any  other  matter  which  is  required  to  be,  or  may  be,  prescribed  or  in  respect  of  which 

provision is to be made by rules by the Central Government. 

92. Power of Food Authority to make regulations.–(1) The Food Authority may, with the previous 
approval  of  the  Central  Government  and  after  previous  publication,  by  notification,  make  regulations 
consistent with this Act and the rules made thereunder to carry out the provisions of this Act. 

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such regulations may 

provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:– 

(a) salaries and other conditions of service of officers and other employees of the Food Authority 

under sub-section (3) of section 9; 

(b) rules of procedure for transaction of business under sub-section (5) of section 11; 

(c) other functions of the Central Advisory Committee under sub-section (2) of section 12; 

(d) procedure of Scientific Committee and Panels under sub-section (4) of section 15; 

(e)  notifying  standards  and  guidelines  in  relation  to  articles  of  food  meant  for  human 

consumption under sub-section (2) of section 16; 

40 

 
(f) procedure to be followed by Food Authority for transaction of business at its meetings under 

sub-section (1) of section 17; 

(g)making or amending regulations in view of urgency concerning food safety or public health 

under clause (d) of sub-section (2) of section 18; 

(h) limits of additives under section 19; 

(i) limits of quantities of contaminants, toxic substance and heavy metals, etc., under section 20; 

(j) tolerance limit of pesticides, veterinary drugs residues, etc, under section 21; 

(k) the manner of marking and labelling of foods under section 23; 

(l) form in which guarantee shall be given under sub-section (4) of section 26; 

(m) conditions and guidelines relating to food recall procedures under sub-section (4) of section 

28; 

(n) regulations relating to functioning of Food Safety Officer under sub-section (5) of section 29; 

(o)  notifying  the  registering  authority  and  the  manner  of  registration;  the  manner  of  making 
application for obtaining licence, the fees payable therefore and the circumstances under which such 
licence may be cancelled or forfeited under section 31; 

(p)  the  respective  areas  of  which  the  Designated  Officer  shall  be  in-charge  for  food  safety 

administration under sub-section (1) of section 36; 

(q) procedure in getting food analysed, details of fees, etc., under sub-section of section 40; 

(r) functions, procedure to be followed by food laboratories under sub-section (3) of section 43; 

(s) procedure to be followed by officials under sub-section (6) of section 47; 

(t) financial regulations to be adopted by the Food Authority in drawing up its budget under sub-

section (2) of section 81; 

(u) issue guidelines or directions for participation in Codex Meetings and preparation of response 

to Codex matters; and 

(v) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, specified by regulations or in respect of 

which provision is to be made by regulations. 

93.  Laying  of  rules  and  regulations  before  Parliament.–Every  rule  and  every  regulation  made 
under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it 
is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more 
successive  sessions,  and  if,  before  the  expiry  of  the  session  immediately  following  the  session  or  the 
successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or regulation or 
both Houses agree that the rule or regulation should not be made, the rule or regulation shall thereafter 
have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such 
modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under 
that rule or regulation. 

94.  Power  of  State  Government  to  make  rules.–(1)  Subject  to  the  powers  of  the  Central 
Government  and  the  Food  Authority  to  make  rules  and  regulations  respectively,  the  State  Government 
may, after previous publication and with the previous approval of the Food Authority, by notification in 
the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the functions and duties assigned to the State Government 
and the State Commissioner of Food Safety under this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder. 

(2)  In  particular  and  without  prejudice  to  the  generality  of  the  foregoing  power,  such  rules  may 

provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:— 

(a)  other  functions  of  the  Commissioner  of  Food  Safety  under  clause  (f)  of  sub-section  (2)  of 

section 30; 

(b)  earmarking  a  fund  and  the  manner  in  which  reward  shall  be  paid  to  a  person  rendering 

assistance in detection of offence or apprehension of offender under section 95; and 

41 

 
(c)  any  other  matter  which  is  required  to  be,  or  may  be  prescribed  or  in  respect  of  which 

provision is to be made by rules by the State Government. 

(3) Every rule made by the State Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is 
made, before each House of the State Legislature where it consists of two Houses or where such State 
Legislature consists of one House, before that House. 

95.  Reward  by  State  Government.–The  State  Government  may  empower  the  Commissioner  of 
Food Safety to order payment of reward to be paid to a person who renders assistance in the detection of 
the offence or the apprehension of the offender, from such fund and in such manner as may be prescribed 
by the State Government. 

96. Recovery of penalty.–A penalty imposed under this Act, if it is not paid, shall be recovered as an 

arrear of land revenue and the defaulters licence shall be suspended till the penalty is paid. 

97. Repeal and savings.–(1) With effect from such date as the Central Government may appoint in 

this behalf, the enactment and Orders specified in the Second Schedule shall stand repealed: 

Provided that such repeal shall not affect:— 

(i)  the  previous  operations  of  the  enactment  and  Orders  under  repeal  or  anything  duly  done  or 

suffered there under; or 

(ii)  any  right,  privilege,  obligation  or  liability  acquired,  accrued  or  incurred  under  any  of  the 

enactment or Orders under repeal; or 

(iii) any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of any offences committed against 

the enactment and Orders under repeal; or 

(iv) any investigation or remedy in respect of any such penalty, forfeiture or punishment, 

and any such investigation, legal proceedings or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced and any 
such penalty, forfeiture or punishment may be imposed, as if this Act had not been passed. 

(2) If there is any other law for the time being in force in any State, corresponding to this Act, the 
same shall upon the commencement of this Act, stand repealed and in such case, the provisions of section 
6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897(10 of 1897) shall apply as if such provisions of the State law had been 
repealed. 

(3) Notwithstanding the repeal of the aforesaid enactment and Orders, the licences issued under any 
such enactment or Order, which are in force on the date of commencement of this Act, shall continue to 
be in force till the date of their expiry for all purposes, as if they had been issued under the provisions of 
this Act or the rules or regulations made thereunder. 

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no court shall 
take cognizance of an offence under the repealed Act or Orders after the expiry of a period of three years 
from the date of the commencement of this Act. 

98.  Transitory  provisions  for  food  standards.–Notwithstanding  the  repeal  of  the  enactment  and 
Orders specified in the Second Schedule, the standards, safety requirements and other provisions of the 
Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder and Orders listed in that Schedule shall continue to be 
in  force  and  operate  till  new  standards  are  specified  under  this  Act  or  rules  and  regulations  made 
thereunder: 

Provided that anything done or any action taken under the enactment and Orders under repeal shall be 
deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act and shall continue in 
force accordingly unless and until superseded by anything done or by any action taken under this Act. 

99.  Milk  and  Milk  Products  Order,  1992  shall  be  deemed  to  be  regulations  made  under  this 
Act.–On and from the date of commencement of this Act, the Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 issued 
under  the  Essential  commodities  Act,  1955  (10  of  1955)  shall  be  deemed  to  be  the  Milk  and  Milk 
Products Regulations, 1992 issued by the Food Authority under this Act. 

42 

 
(2)  The  Food  Authority  may,  with  the  previous  approval  of  the  Central  Government  and  after 
previous  publication,  by  notification,  amend  the  regulations  specified  in  sub-section  to  carry  out  the 
purposes of this Act. 

100. Amendments to the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation 
of  Production,  Supply  and  Distribution)  Act,  1992.–As  from  the  notified  day,  the  provisions  of  the 
Infant  Milk  Substitutes,  Feeding  Bottles  and  Infant  Foods  (Regulation  of  Production,  Supply  and 
Distribution) Act, 1992 (41 of 1992) (herein referred to as the principal Act) shall apply subject to the 
following amendments, namely:– 

(a) throughout the principal Act, any reference to ―the Prevention of the Food Adulteration Act, 

1954 (37 of 1954)‖ shall be substituted by reference to ―the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006‖; 

(b)  in  section  12  of  the  principal  Act,  the  reference  to  ―any  Food  Inspector  appointed  under 
section 9 of the Prevention of the Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (37 of 1954)‖ shall be substituted by 
reference to ―any Food Safety Officer appointed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006‖; 

(c)  throughout  the  principal  Act,  any  reference  to  ―Food  Inspector‖  shall  be  substituted  by  the 

expression ―the Food Safety Officer‖; and 

(d)  in  section  21  of  the  principal  Act,  in  sub-section  (1),  the  reference  to  clause  (a)  shall  be 

substituted by the following, namely:– 

―(a) the Designated Officer or the Food Safety Officer directed under sub-section (5) of section 

42 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006; or‖. 

101. Power to remove difficulties.–If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this 
Act, the Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as may appear to be necessary, for removing the difficulty: 

Provided that no order shall be made under this section after of the expiry of the period of three years 

from the date of commencement of this Act. 

(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each 

House of Parliament. 

43 

 
 
 
THE FIRST SCHEDULE 

[See section 5(1)(e)] 

 Zone I 

1.  Andhra Pradesh 
2.  Goa 
3.  Karnataka 
4.  Kerala 
5.  Maharashtra 
6.  Orissa 
7.  Tamil Nadu 

Zone II 

1.  Haryana 
2.  Himachal Pradesh 
3.  Jammu and Kashmir 
4.  Punjab 
5.  Uttaranchal 
6.  Uttar Pradesh  

Zone III 

1.  Bihar 
2.  Chhattisgarh 
3.  Gujarat 
4.  Jharkhand 
5.  Madhya Pradesh 
6.  Rajasthan 
7.  West Bengal 

Zone IV 

1.  Arunachal Pradesh 
2.  Assam 
3.  Manipur 
4.  Meghalaya 
5.  Mizoram 
6.  Nagaland 
7.  Sikkim 
8.  Tripura 

Zone V 

1.  Andaman and Nicobar Islands 
2.  Chandigarh 
3.  Dadra and Nagar Haveli 
4.  Daman and Diu 
5.  Delhi 
6.  Lakshadweep 
7.  Pondicherry. 

44 

 
 
 
 
THE SECOND SCHEDULE 
(See section 97) 

1.  The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (37 of 1954). 
2.  The Fruit Products Order, 1955. 
3.  The Meat Food Products Order, 1973. 
4.  The Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947. 
5.  The Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1998. 
6.  The Solvent Extracted Oil, De oiled Meal, and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967. 
7.  The Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992. 
8.  Any other order issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of 1955) relating to 

food. 

45 

 
 
